Publication:

Patient safety with reference to the occurrence of adverse events in admitted patients on the basis of incident reporting in a tertiary care hospital in North India

Background A good quality report should lend itself for detailed analysis of the chain of events that lead to the incident. This knowledge can then be used to consider what interventions, and at what level in the chain, can prevent the incident from occurring again. Aim was to study the occurrence of adverse events on the basis of incident reporting.

Methods Critical analysis of incident reporting of adverse events taking place in admitted patients for one year by using WHO Structured questionnaire on patient safety (RF-1 & RF-2 forms) along with their record review and interview to the concerned staff.

Results 253 incidents of adverse events were reported during the study period of one year. Most common screening criteria being, Patient/family dissatisfaction with care received, documented or expressed during the current (221 incidents i.e. 87.35%), followed by hospital acquired infection/sepsis (29 incidents i.e. 11.46%). 13 incidents (5.13%) were reported for unexpected deaths due to adverse events. 38.9% of reported adverse events studied showed signs of health care team responsible for causing adverse events. 39% of adverse events were found preventable and 61% of adverse event was found non-preventable.

Conclusions Incident reporting of adverse events should be encouraged in all hospitals.