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Hospital Harm - Severe Hypoglycemia

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Compare Versions of: "Hospital Harm - Severe Hypoglycemia"

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Table Options
Measure Information 2026 Reporting Period
Title Hospital Harm - Severe Hypoglycemia
CMS eCQM ID CMS816v5
Short Name

HH-Hypo

CBE ID* 3503e
Measure Steward Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Description

The measure assesses the number of inpatient hospitalizations for patients age 18 and older who were administered at least one hypoglycemic medication during the encounter and who suffer the harm of a severe hypoglycemic event during the encounter

Measure Scoring Proportion measure
Measure Type Outcome
Stratification

None

Risk Adjustment

None

Rationale

This measure focuses on severe hypoglycemia as an outcome in the hospital inpatient setting. In a study published by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), in 2018 adverse drug events represented 43% of all adverse events in hospitals among Medicare patients; of those events,...

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Clinical Recommendation Statement

From Section 16, Diabetes Care in the Hospital in the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes by the American Diabetes Association, (American Diabetes Association, 2024):

16.12 A hypoglycemia management protocol should be adopted and implemented by each hospital or hospital system. A plan...

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Improvement Notation

Decreased score indicates improvement

Definition

Inpatient hospitalizations: Includes time in the emergency department and observation when the transition between these encounters (if they exist) and the inpatient encounter are within an hour or less of each other.

A severe hypoglycemic event (harm) is defined as a laboratory or...

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Guidance

Note the measure is currently confined to using mg/dL as the unit of measurement for glucose results.

Glucose levels are determined by laboratory or point-of-care (POC) tests, including capillary/glucometer blood glucose tests, and by interstitial fluid specimens from continuous glucose...

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Initial Population

Inpatient hospitalizations that end during the measurement period for patients age 18 and older and at least one hypoglycemic medication administration starts during the encounter

Denominator

Equals Initial Population

Denominator Exclusions

None

Numerator

Inpatient hospitalizations where a severe hypoglycemic event occurred during the encounter. A severe hypoglycemic event is:

- A glucose test with a result less than 40 mg/dL

AND

- A hypoglycemic medication was administered within 24 hours before the start of the severe hypoglycemic event...

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Numerator Exclusions

None

Denominator Exceptions

None

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Last Updated: May 06, 2025