Original Research

An Analysis of the Involvement and Attitudes of Resident Physicians in Reporting Errors in Patient Care

Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. 2021 March;28(2):62-69 | 10.12788/jcom.0040

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A third limitation of the study is that not all of the residents that completed the first and second surveys completed the entire intervention. For example, some residents did not attend the didactic lecture discussing PASS reports, and as such may not have received the appropriate training prior to completing the second survey.

The findings from this study can be used by the residency programs at UH-RH and by residency programs across the country to improve the involvement and attitudes of residents in reporting errors in patient care. Hospital staff need to be encouraged and educated on how to better report patient errors and the importance of reporting these errors. It would benefit hospital systems to provide continued and targeted training to familiarize physicians with the process of reporting patient errors, and take steps to reduce the time it takes to report patient errors. By increasing the reporting of errors, hospitals will be able to improve patient care through initiatives aimed at preventing errors.

Conclusion

Residents play an important role in providing high-quality care for patients. Part of providing high-quality care is the reporting of errors in patient care when they occur. Physicians, and in particular, residents, have historically underreported errors in patient care. Part of this underreporting results from residents not knowing or understanding the process of filing a report and feeling that the reports could be used as a form of retaliation. For hospital systems to continue to improve patient care, it is important for residents to not only know how to report errors in patient care but to feel comfortable doing so.

Corresponding author: Andrew J. Chin, DO, MS, MPH, Department of Internal Medicine, Adelante Healthcare, 1705 W Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201; anchin@adelantehealthcare.com.

Financial disclosures: None.

Funding: This study was funded by a research grant provided by Lake Eric College of Osteopathic Medicine to Andrew J. Chin and Anish Bhakta.