Reporting of errors by healthcare professionals

The realisation that an error has been committed, and the courage to discuss it openly, opens the way to a constructive process to improve one's professional practices, in interaction with healthcare organisations. Reporting errors to adverse events programmes is influenced by the impact of errors on healthcare professionals and their fears about the outcome and disclosure.The low rate of spontaneous reporting results from the obstacles encountered by healthcare professionals and reflects their attitudes towards their own errors. The way in which individuals make errors and handle adverse events reveals a lot about their personality and how they view themselves as professionals. It is not easy to report errors and it depends on the individuals concerned. Healthcare professionals' "reflexivity" (their ability to reflect on their own actions) is an integral part of their professional skills; it is an essential resource for analysing errors and improving quality of care. Reporting an error to a programme such as Prescrire's Preventing the Preventable is a conscious, professional act. It is both lucid and responsible, and part of a commitment to improving professional practice and skills, at the individual and institutional level. Learning from errors in order to prevent them from happening again supports the development of a quality and safety culture that should be encouraged among healthcare professionals.