2-1 Discussion Medical Error Reporting

Whenitcomestothereportingofmedicalerrors,thereareseveral

reasonswhymedicalprofessionalsmaynotprovideaccuratedata.

Someofthemostcommonreasonsbehindthisphenomenoninclude

fearofconsequences,lackoffeedback,workclimate/culture,and

thelackofareportingsystem(Aljabari&Kadhim,2021).Fearof

consequenceshasbeenthemostreportedfactorinfluencing

underreportingmedicalerrors,whichincludesfearofblame,fearof

losingone’sjob,fearofapatient’sresponsetothemedicalerror,fear

ofbeinglabeledincompetent,fearoflegalconsequences,fearof

punishment,andfearoflosingrespectfromcoworkers.Lackof

feedbackorthenegativeimpactofimproperfeedbackarealso

factorsassociatedwithunderreporting.Feedbacktothepersonwho

committedtheerrorthat’sconstructive,open,andsupportivehas

beenshowntoincreasethereportingofmedicalerrors.IntheUnited

States,workclimate/cultureisthemostreportedbarriertoreporting

medicalerrors.Alackofsafetycultureanderrorprevention

programsresultinpoormedicalerrorreporting,whileworkcultures

thatembodyteamworkandemphasizesafetyhavehigherratesof

errorreporting.Additionally,thelackofareportingsystemcanoften

beabarriertomedicalerrorreporting.Electronicreportingsystems

havebeenshowntoimproveratesofmedicalerrorreporting,as

opposedtofollowingatraditionalmethodofpaperreporting

(Aljabari&Kadhim,2021).

Leaderscaneradicateacultureofshameandblameby

embracingpositivesafetycultureanderadicatingblameculture.

Healthcareorganizationsthatpromotepositivesafetyculturediscuss

medicalerrorsopenly,whichhelpsteammemberslearnfromeach

other’smistakesandimplementchangesproactively.Additionally,

safetycultureentailsprovidingtimelyandcomprehensiverootcause

analysesofpatientsafetyincidentstocreateanenvironmentthat

promotestrust,seeingmedicalerrorsaslearningopportunitiesfor

programenhancementandreform.Incontrast,blamecultureisa

workculturecharacterizedbyfearofreportingmedicalerrorsdueto

fearofnegativeconsequences,suchasblameandpunishment

(Alyahya,Hijazi,Alolayyan,Ajayneh,Khader,&Al-Sheyab,2021).The

workculturecultivatedwithinahealthcareorganizationislargelythe

responsibilityoftheleadershipteam,who’sresponsiblefordefining

policies,implementingsafetyprogramsandfeedbackmechanisms,

andencouragingfreedomtoopenlydiscusserrorsinasafespace,

freeofshame.Oftentimes,medicalerrorsarearesultofpoor

systemsandprocesses,ratherthanthefailureofaspecificindividual,

andthereportingofthoseerrorsleadstopositiveenhancements

thatimprovepatientsafety.

References:

1.Aljabari,S.,&Kadhim,Z.(2021).CommonBarrierstoReporting

MedicalErrors.TheScientificWorldJournal,2021,6494889.

https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6494889.

2.Alyahya,M.S.,Hijazi,H.H.,Alolayyan,M.N.,Ajayneh,F.J.,

Khader,Y.S.,&Al-Sheyab,N.A.(2021).TheAssociationBetween

CognitiveMedicalErrorsandTheirContributingOrganizationaland

IndividualFactors.Riskmanagementandhealthcarepolicy,14,415–

430.https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S293110

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