Factors influencing incident reporting in surgical care.

Incident reporting (IR) systems continue to consume tremendous energy for providers who submit incidents and for hospital safety leaders who analyze them. Despite the noted limitations in IR and the poor correlation to actual quality- or safety-related data, efforts to engage providers in IR focus on building a positive safety culture. This study surveyed nurses and physicians about their reporting practices and found that nurses were more aware of existing IR systems, while the level of harm, incident type, and profession all influenced the likelihood of reporting. Of note, physicians were less likely to report surgical complications compared to other incident types as these were more frequently discussed in morbidity and mortality conferences.