How to Encourage Adverse Event Reporting

Adverse events must be reported in order for the "seven pillars" approach to patient safety to work effectively. Healthcare organizations and group practices can't fix what they don't know about, says Timothy B. McDonald, MD, JD, Chief Safety and Risk Officer for Health Affairs at the University of Illinois, where the seven pillars have been used successfully for a number of years.

To encourage adverse event reporting, leaders must understand the drivers of human behavior: fear, greed, and ego.

The fear of retaliation may prevent medical staff from reporting errors, so organizations may wish to make reporting anonymous.

To encourage reporting by resident physicians, organizations may need to create incentives. And attending physicians may be motivated to report adverse events if they know they will be fined otherwise.

The seven pillars are:
1. Occurrence reporting
2. Assessment and investigation
3. Communication
4. Disclosure and apology
5. Process or performance improvement
6. Data analysis
7. Education

Dr. McDonald was a featured speaker at The Doctors Company's 2013 Executive Advisory Board meeting, a forum where dynamic though leaders explore topics of importance to modern medical practices in the evolving healthcare environment.

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