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Factors that prevent physicians reporting adverse events
1P. and A. Kyriakou Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece. anasl@hol.gr
Insights
Greek doctors often do not report adverse events due to a lack of tradition, belief in futility, and workload. Understanding these barriers is key to improving patient safety reporting systems.
Area of Science:
- Medical Safety
- Healthcare Management
- Health Policy
Background:
- Adverse events in healthcare pose significant risks to patient safety.
- Effective reporting systems are crucial for identifying and mitigating these risks.
- Understanding physician reluctance to report is essential for improving healthcare quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying reasons for Greek doctors' reluctance to report adverse events.
- To identify key barriers hindering the reporting of medical errors and adverse outcomes.
Main Methods:
- An exploratory study was conducted using a questionnaire.
- The survey was administered to 209 doctors across 14 major hospitals in Athens.
- The questionnaire demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84).
Main Results:
- A four-factor solution explained 67.4% of the variance in reporting reluctance.
- Over 50% of doctors agreed that a lack of tradition in reporting adverse events was a significant barrier.
- Doctors also cited a belief that reporting would not lead to improvement and concerns about workload as primary reasons for non-reporting.
Conclusions:
- Reluctance to report adverse events stems from cultural factors (professional, national, organizational) and healthcare structural issues (safety systems, regulations).
- Addressing these multifaceted barriers is necessary to foster a culture of open reporting.
- The findings provide insights for developing improved systems and cultures to encourage adverse event reporting.
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons why Greek doctors are reluctant to report adverse events.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
The paper is an exploratory study using the adverse events questionnaire, administered to 209 doctors in 14 major Athens hospitals, comprising university as well as tertiary.
Findings:
The questionnaire showed a high degree of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.84), which revealed a four-factor solution, explaining 67.4 per cent of the variance. Three dominant reasons for not reporting, with which almost or more than 50 per cent of doctors strongly or slightly agreed, were identified as no tradition for bringing up adverse events and a belief that bringing up adverse events will not lead to any improvement and workload.
Research Limitations/Implications:
Factors that dissuade doctors from bringing up adverse events may be projected not only by cultural aspects such as professional, national and organisational cultures but also by healthcare structural issues such as safety systems, rules and procedures, and relevant acts and regulations. The study has several noteworthy limitations. First, doctors' response was poor, which might conceal sample bias problems. Second, the present study identified four factors but the fourth factor was not well defined.
Originality/Value:
The study provides an understanding why physicians fail to report adverse events so that systems can be introduced and cultures developed, which make this easier.
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