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Introduction
Medical error reporting is an important component of enhancing patient safety in hospitals. Efficient and reliable systems track, identify and report medical errors that compromise the safety of patients. Many medical practitioners fail to report medical errors or conceal certain errors because of the legal implications of reporting. Studies have shown that reporting systems in many hospitals are underutilized and fail to provide accurate information that can enhance patient safety (Kalra, Kalra, & Baniak, 2013). Physicians and nurses need to determine the frequency, types, and effects of medical errors to improve patient safety. It is also necessary to compare the errors identified by nurses and physicians versus those identified by other health care providers. The disparity can be used to identify the cause of the differences and how the problem can be addressed to improve the quality of care and the safety of patients.
Background of Study
Medical errors are prevalent among physicians and nurses. These errors compromise patient safety because they result in unfavorable outcomes that have health and financial consequences (Taylor et al., 2004). Medical errors are common in all hospital settings. However, they depend on the knowledge, attentiveness, and professionalism of practitioners. Errors in pediatric patients are usually underreported because of the ethical and legal consequences associated with them (Kalra et al., 2013). This issue is being studied because medical errors are common in hospital settings and are one of the many challenges that the health care system needs to address thoroughly. Many nurses and physicians do not use incident reports as required and fail to report certain errors. The study is significant to nursing because reporting medical errors is an effective way of upholding nursing ethics and acting morally. The nursing practice is guided by a code of ethics that upholds professionalism. The objective of the study was to describe the quantity and types of medical errors reported by nurses and physicians through incident report systems in pediatric patients (Taylor et al., 2004). The study also aimed to evaluate the attitudes of nursing regarding certain interventions to mitigate the problem of increasing medical errors. The recommended interventions can be used to improve nursing practice and enhance patient safety.
Method of Study
The researchers used a quantitative study method to conduct the study. The research design involved the use of a 5-section survey document, the use of a Likert scale to record the responses, and the use of Mann-Whitney tests to compare the likelihood of nurses and physicians reporting a certain medical error. The sample size included 147 participants (74 physicians and 66 registered nurses) (Taylor et al., 2004). Initially, the researchers selected 200 participants randomly but 53 of them declined to participate. The researchers mailed the survey to participants who were required to complete and mail them back. In the case of participants who did not respond, another copy of the survey was mailed to them after one week. In case a response was not received within four weeks, a research study coordinator contacted the participants to establish whether they were interested in participating in the study or not. Participation was voluntary and participants could decline to participate by informing a research study coordinator.
Results of Study
The researchers found out that nurses and physicians were underutilizing incident reports in their practice. 34.8 % of participants had reported less than 20% of the perceived medical errors and 32.6% had reported less than 40% of medical errors committed by their colleagues (Taylor et al., 2004). The findings showed that nurses were more likely to report medical errors than physicians. The main reasons for underreporting medical errors included ambiguity regarding the definition of a medical error, insufficient time to complete the report, uncertainty about who is responsible for reporting errors, and fears of implicating colleagues (Taylor et al., 2004). Interventions that could increase reporting included education regarding errors that need to be reported, feedback from the administration about the outcomes of reported errors, and the introduction of an electronic reporting system (Taylor et al., 2004). Many nurses and physicians are worried about the consequences of reporting certain errors. The results of the study have nursing implications. They challenge the concept of ethical nursing because nurses are guided by a code of ethics that requires them to act ethically and morally in all situations. Failure to report a medical error is unethical and contravenes nursing ethics (Kalra et al., 2013). The findings also reveal one of how nurses compromise patient safety. Failure to report medical errors eradicates the likelihood of making changes that could improve patient safety (Taylor et al., 2004). The results of the study have a great impact on nursing practice, education, and administration. Nurses can use the information to improve patient safety by reporting all cases of medical errors committed. Nursing schools can use the findings to improve their training programs by developing more comprehensive definitions of medical errors. They need to train nurses on effective ways of handling medical errors and the consequences of omitting them in incident reports. Administration teams can use the recommendations on potential intervention strategies to create more effective incident reporting systems and provide a clear definition of a medical error (Taylor et al., 2004). In addition, they can provide a clear explanation regarding the types of errors that should be included in incident reports.
Ethical Considerations
The study was approved by the Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Centers Institutional Review Board (Taylor et al., 2004). The privacy of the participants was respected because participation was voluntary and no one was coerced into participating. Personal information was sued with the consent of participants and only when they failed to respond within one month. The privacy of patients was protected because the researchers dealt with nurses and physicians only.
Conclusion
Medical errors occur in all hospital settings and are usually underreported due to various reasons that include lack of knowledge, fear of implicating colleagues, and lack of a proper definition of what constitutes a medical error. Many nurses and physicians underreport medical errors during practice and as such compromise patient safety. Reporting errors is an important aspect of improving patient safety in hospitals. Therefore, medical practitioners need to uphold the ethics of their profession and report all errors committed. Patient safety is a critical component of providing quality health care and it is the responsibility of nurses and physicians to improve it. Reporting all errors is important in the improvement of patient safety and enhancement of care provided in hospitals.
References
Kalra, J., Kalra, N., & Baniak, N. (2013). Medical Error, Disclosure, and patient Safety: A Global View of Quality Care. Clinical Biochemistry, 46(13), 1161-1169.
Taylor, J. A., Brownstein, D., Christakis, D., Blackburn, S., Strandjord, T. P., Klein, E. J., & Shafii, J. (2004). Use of Incident Reports by Physicians and Nurses to Document Medical Errors in Pediatric Patients. PEDIATRICS, 114(3), 729-735.
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