Electronic adverse incident reporting in hospitals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess attitudes toward and use of an electronic adverse incident reporting system in all four hospitals in one NHS Scotland Health Board area. A questionnaire was used to assess Medical Consultants', Managers', and Nurses' attitudes and perceptions about electronic adverse incident reporting. Actual adverse incident reporting data were also analysed. The main findings from this study are that Consultants, Managers, and Nurses all had positive attitudes about responsibility for reporting adverse incidents. All respondents indicated that the design of and information collected by the electronic adverse incident reporting system (DATIX) was adequate but Consultants had more negative attitudes and perceptions than Managers and Nurses about DATIX. All respondents expressed negative attitudes about the amount and type of feedback they receive from reporting, and Consultants expressed more negative attitudes about how DATIX is managed than Managers and Nurses. Analysis of adverse incident reporting data found that the proportion of Consultants using DATIX to report incidents was significantly lower than that of Managers and Nurses. The findings suggest that there are no additional barriers to incident reporting associated with the use of a bespoke electronic adverse incident reporting system as compared to other types of systems. Although an electronic adverse incident reporting system may be able to increase incident reporting and facilitate organisational learning by making it easier to report incidents and analyse incident reporting data, strong leadership within hospitals / healthcare professions (or healthcare subcultures) is still required in order to promote and sustain incident reporting to improve patient safety

Completing the Audit Cycle: The Impact of an Electronic Reporting System on the Feedback Loop in Surgical Specialties

“…Senior risk personnel must ensure that actions are prioritized and allocate resources accordingly. This emphasis on leadership within the feedback loop is echoed by Walsh and colleagues () as well as Evans and colleagues (). Similarly, Carrol and Quijada () commented that the hospital culture is an amalgamation of occupational cultures, and in such a complex situation, good leadership is essential.…”

“…Numerous healthcare systems have worked to implement effective reporting systems (Spigelman & Swan, ; Williams & Osborn, ). However, several barriers to incident reporting have been identified (Walsh, Burns, & Antony, ). These barriers include time constraints, arduous forms, lack of understanding of the incident system, lack of feedback and action following incident reporting and others (Evans et al., ; Kingston et al., ; Schectman & Plews‐Ogan, ; Waring, ).…”

“…The literature supports the premise that electronic reporting systems can result in increased reporting rates. Walsh and colleagues () noted that the replacement of a paper‐based reporting systems with electronic systems can make it easier and less time consuming to report incidents. In accordance with this, Taylor and colleagues () via a questionnaire found that 45% of doctors and nurses believed that an electronic system would result in increased reporting rates.…”

“…Following the use of the electronic reporting system, the percentage of incidents resulting in action increased from 40% to 66%. This increase in action may be attributable to the notion that electronic reporting systems improve the efficiency of the reporting process, thereby freeing time for the formulation and implementation of solutions (Armondi, ; Levtizion‐Korach et al., ; Walsh et al., ). Introduction of the electronic reporting intervention was followed by significant improvements in incident reporting, evaluation, and action rates.…”

An evaluation of Datix implementation for incident reporting at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

“…3 Data collection and detailed analysis of incidents and near misses can facilitate the learning process and enhance safety culture. 4…”