Barriers and motivators for making error reports from family medicine offices: a report from the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network (AAFP NRN).
While incident reporting is an accepted method of error detection in the inpatient setting, it remains underutilized in ambulatory practice. In this survey, researchers conducted focus groups with physicians, nurses, and office staff around the issue of error reporting. Respondents reported that logistical factors were the major barrier to reporting errors, principally the additional effort required to report an error and lack of clear guidelines on which errors should be reported and how much information should be provided. A prior study found similar concerns among inpatient-based providers.