Hospital Adverse Event Reporting Systems: A Systematic Scoping Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Health informatics

Background:

• Reducing reportable events with undesirable effects (REUE) is a critical hospital priority.
• Effective reporting systems are essential for identifying and managing adverse events.
• Understanding reporting system performance, barriers, and facilitators is crucial for improving patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the literature on the performance of healthcare reporting systems.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to reporting adverse events.
• To evaluate strategies for improving passive reporting systems in healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review of the literature was conducted.
• Studies included populations exposed to REUE in the health system (healthcare teams, patients, families).
• Searches were performed across multiple major databases including Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, and LILACS.

Main Results:

• Fifteen studies were included: 1 systematic review, 2 clinical trials, 8 observational studies, 3 qualitative studies, and 1 mixed-methods study.
• Four studies compared the effectiveness of active versus passive reporting systems.
• Strategies to enhance passive reporting included education on REUE, simplified reporting formats, increased motivation for self-reporting, mandatory institutional policies, and service-specific report formats.

Conclusions:

• Passive reporting techniques significantly underreport adverse events.
• Both active and passive reporting techniques are recommended for comprehensive adverse event surveillance in healthcare institutions.
• Further research is needed to determine the comparative efficiency of different reporting systems.