Nurse and Other Healthcare Managers' Experiences and Recommendations for Patient Incident Reporting Processes and...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Effective incident reporting systems are crucial for patient safety.
• Managers play a key role in processing incident reports and influencing staff experiences.
• Current incident reporting software may present challenges in usability and functionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze managers' experiences with patient safety incident reporting software.
• To identify challenges and perspectives on incident report handling processes.
• To explore desired improvements for reporting software and handling procedures.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive qualitative study design.
• Data collected through interviews and focus group discussions with 16 participants (15 managers, 1 patient safety expert).
• Analysis employed deductive and inductive content analysis.

Main Results:

• Managers desired improvements in software terminology, classification, and analysis tools, including AI integration.
• Participants expressed uncertainty about utilizing all software features.
• Clear processes, feedback, and communication were vital for improving staff experiences; real-time warning systems were seen as beneficial.

Conclusions:

• The study identified significant shortcomings in incident report handling processes and software features.
• These shortcomings may negatively impact health professionals' experiences with report handling.
• Improvements in reporting software and processes are essential for enhancing shared learning and patient safety awareness.