National Development and Implementation of a Democratized Disruptive Behavior Reporting System in Health Care.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Information Systems

Background:

• Workplace disruptive behavior and violence (WDBV) is a persistent issue in healthcare settings, often underreported.
• The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) developed the Disruptive Behavior Reporting System (DBRS) to address this challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the 7-year implementation success of the DBRS, a comprehensive WDBV reporting system.
• To assess the impact of DBRS on reporting rates, types of reporters, and timeliness of incident documentation.

Main Methods:

• Implementation success was measured by tracking the number of WDBV reports submitted.
• Analysis included the variety of staff roles submitting reports and the timeframes for report entry and review.
• Data was collected over a seven-year period following DBRS implementation.

Main Results:

• DBRS demonstrated a significant increase in WDBV reporting, with over 50,000 reports in FY2021, compared to zero in 2014.
• The number of staff roles reporting incidents expanded from 54 to 67.
• Report review times decreased to a median of 4.79 days, and report latency was nearly eliminated.

Conclusions:

• The DBRS design, enabling anytime, anywhere reporting, was crucial for its successful implementation.
• The substantial rise in reported incidents indicates DBRS's effectiveness in capturing previously underreported WDBV data.
• The DBRS highlights the potential of information systems to empower healthcare personnel in addressing behavioral safety concerns.