Healthc Inform Res.  2010 Sep;16(3):166-176. 10.4258/hir.2010.16.3.166.

Status and Problems of Adverse Event Reporting Systems in Korean Hospitals

• Kim J
• Kim S
• Jung Y
• Kim EK

• KMID: 2284529
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2010.16.3.166

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study identifies the current status and problems of adverse event reporting system in Korean hospitals. The data obtained from this study will be used to raise international awareness and enable collaborative researches on patient safety.
METHODS
We distributed the questionnaire developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), USA to the 265 risk managers of hospitals by e-mail. Seventy-two percent of the risk managers responded to the inquiry.
RESULTS
Eighty-five percent of the hospitals responded that they collect information regarding the event where harm has occurred or might have occurred to a patient. Seventy-five percent of the hospitals did not allow individuals to report occurrences without identifying themselves. Only 54% of the hospitals had an organized patient safety program that manages or coordinates all of the hospital's patient safety activities. The most frequent reason why errors were not reported was the fear of individuals being involved in the investigation and potential disadvantage resulting from it. Eighty-five percent of the hospitals produced reports of their adverse event data, but 68% of the hospitals did not distribute occurrence reports within the hospital.
CONCLUSIONS
Lack of standardized reporting system, available information, procedures for protecting the reporting individuals, and mindlessness/indifference of the hospital employees are identified as the major problems. Therefore, it is crucial to address these problems to develop appropriate solutions, enable proactive involvement from the healthcare community, and change the overall patient safety culture, specifically protecting privacy, to increase the quality of service in the healthcare industry.

Keyword

Patient Safety; Adverse Event; Reporting System

MeSH Terms

Delivery of Health Care
Electronic Mail
Health Care Sector
Health Services Research
Humans
Patient Safety
Privacy
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

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  Figure 1 Reporting status by different staff group.

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  Figure 2 The frequency of report by the severity level of occurrences.

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  Figure 3 The use of occurrence information.

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  Figure 4 The result of the occurrence.

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