Use of Incident Reports by Physicians and Nurses to Document Medical Errors in Pediatric Patients

Abstract

Medical errors in pediatric patients are significantly underreported in incident report systems, particularly by physicians. Some types of errors are less likely to be reported than others. Information in incident reports is not a representative sample of errors committed in a children's hospital. Specific changes in the incident report system could lead to more reporting by physicians and nurses who care for pediatric patients.

Retrospective Analysis of Opioid Medication Incidents Requiring Administration of Naloxone

“…A previous survey indicated that the majority of nurses submit occurrence reports regarding their own errors more than 80% of the time, whereas the majority of physicians complete reports for less than 20% of their own incidents. 21 This disparity could account for the large quantity of administration errors identified in studies that rely on occurrence reports alone.…”

Nurses' experiences with errors in nursing

“…Although nurses are the healthcare professionals who most frequently report errors, many continue to harbor fears about reporting them (Bayazidi, Zraezadeh, Zamanzadeh, & Parvan, 2012;Cook, Hoas, Guttmannova, & Joyner, 2004;Espin, Lingard, Baker, & Regehr, 2006;Hartnell MacKinnon, Sketris, & Fleming, 2012;Osmon et al, 2004;Rowin et al, 2008;Prang & Jelsness-Jorgensen, 2014;Uribe, Schweikhart, Pathak, Dow, & Marsh, 2002). In many institutions, the workplace culture regarding error reporting remains one of blame, and nurses are often concerned about personal repercussions associated with reporting errors (Blair, Kable, Courtney-Pratt, & Doran,2015;Castel, Ginsburg, Zaheer, & Tamin, 2015;Cook et al, 2004;Espin et al, 2006;Jeffe et al, 2004;Stratton, Blegen, Pepper, & Vaughn, 2004;Taylor et al, 2004;Uribe et al, 2002). A better understanding of nurses' decision-making regarding error reporting and workplace factors that influence their decisions can inform the development of strategies to improve the frequency and accuracy of error reporting by nurses.…”

Electronic Prescribing Systems in Pediatrics: The Rationale and Functionality Requirements

“…13 Despite this limitation, however, 2.4% of hospitalized patients develop a clinically significant ADE during their hospitalization. 14 Medication errors are one of the most common medical errors and the most frequent cause of adverse events, accounting for 19% to 20% of all adverse events.…”