A hospital incident reporting system (2016-2019): Learning from notifier's perception on incidents' risk, severity and frequency of adverse events

Abstract

Incident reporting systems (IRSs) are considered safety culture promoters. Nevertheless, they have not been contemplated to monitor professionals' perception about patient safety related risks. This study aims to describe the characteristics and evolution of incident notifications reported between 2016 and 2019 in a high complexity reference hospital in Barcelona and explores the association between notifications' characteristics and notifier's perception about incidents severity, probability of occurrence and risk. The main analysis unit was notifications reported. A descriptive analysis was performed and taxes by hospital activity were calculated. Odds ratios were obtained to study the association between the type of incident, the moment of incident, notifiers' professional category, reported incident's severity, probability and incidents' calculated risk. Through the study period, a total of 6379 notifications were reported, observing an annual increase of notifications until 2018. Falls (21.22%), Medical and procedures management (18.91%) and Medication incidents (15.49%) were the most frequently notified. Departments reporting the highest number of notifications were Emergency room and Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Incident type and notifiers' characteristics were consistently included in the models constructed to assess risk perception. Pharmaceutics were the most frequent notifiers when considering the proportion of staff members. Notification patterns can inform professionals' patient risk perception and increase awareness of professionals' misconceptions regarding patient safety.

Keywords: Incident reporting system; Patient safety; Seguridad del paciente; Sistema de notificación de incidentes.