One of the main reasons that there is no accurate data for medical
errors is due to the lack of a system for reporting. According to
Modern Healthcare (2019), there are only 2 dozen states that report
medical errors, but with a very narrow range, and only a few states
that report facility-specific errors. Many hospitals in the US also only
allow for voluntary reporting, which means that healthcare workers
do not have to report every incident, or can pick and choose what to
report. This allows for the healthcare workers to not provide
accurate information for the sake of having a bad reputation.
Some other reasons why medical errors are not accurately reported
could be due to the fear of legal ramifications of healthcare
professionals, blame and shame culture of some organizations,
making workers feel guilty, lack of time for reporting due to nurse-
to-patient ratios and workload, no trust in follow ups, lack of
encouragement from higher up leaders. (Sympir, 2021)
Many leaders in healthcare eradicate a culture of shame and blame
when it comes to medical error reporting. Unfortunately, these
leaders are more worried about what they may look like if accurate
errors are reported, and they don't want to have a bad reputation for
their organization. They may make the staff look bad, or loose trust
in them. In order for leaders to get out of this, they must change
their mentality and culture. Leaders have to find a way to promote
strategies in integrating patient safety in their organization. (Reeder,
2001)
Meyer, H. (November 9, 2019). Modern Healthcare. "With No
National Reporting System, Volume of Medical Errors is Still
Unknown." Retrieved
from https://www.modernhealthcare.com/safety-quality/no-
national-reporting-system-volume-medical-errors-still-unknown
Reeder, J. M. (2001). PubMed. "Patient Safety: Cultural Changes
Needed." Retrieved
from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12811158/
Sympir. (March 17, 2021). Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare-
PSQH. "Barriers to Incident Reporting in Healthcare." Retrieved
from https://www.psqh.com/news/barriers-to-incident-reporting-in-
healthcare/
