Feasibility of prospective error reporting in home palliative care: A mixed methods study

Prospectively tracking errors can improve patient safety but little is known about how to successfully implement error reporting in a home-based palliative care context.

Explore the feasibility of implementing an error reporting system in a home-based palliative care program in Toronto, Canada, and describe the possible factors that may influence uptake.

A convergent mixed-methods approach was used. Participants prospectively documented errors using a novel reporting tool and completed monthly surveys. Following the reporting period, we conducted a semi-structured interview exploring participants' experiences and perceived factors influencing reporting behaviors. Error, survey, and interview data were analyzed separately, then integrated for comparison.

Thirteen palliative care physicians from a single home-based palliative care organization in Toronto, Canada anonymously reported errors between October 2021 and September 2022. Of these, six participated in the exit interview.

Participants reported 195 errors; one-third (n = 65) involved internal staff or systems. Three themes describe the factors impacting the likelihood of reporting errors: (1) High levels of cognitive burden decreases the likelihood of error reporting; (2) Framing errors as opportunities to learn rather than reason for punishment improves likelihood of error reporting; (3) Knowing that error data will improve patient safety motivates individuals to report errors.

Physicians are amenable to error reporting activities so long as data is used to improve patient safety. The collaborative nature of care in a home-based palliative care context may present unique challenges to translating error reporting to improved patient safety.