Computerizing incident reporting at a community hospital.

BACKGROUND: A community hospital in Seattle, Northwest Hospital (NWH), reengineered its paper-based incident reporting system into a computerized reporting, notification, and tracking tool. In July 1996 a small interdisciplinary working group was formed to improve the incident reporting system so that it would decrease the time needed to complete an incident report, collect more precise data about the incident, allow department managers instant access to all open memos involving or generated by their departments, allow ad hoc reporting by managers and administration, and allow only involved parties access to memos. IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION: After a pilot study was conducted in the Childbirth Center and the pharmacy department began using the computerized incident reporting system, other units began using the system according to a weekly roll-out schedule during the first two quarters of 1998. In the third quarter of 1998, NWH began using the system as its primary quality assurance and incident reporting tool. As soon as an incident is documented, it is in the database and available for reporting. Data collected from January 1998 through December 1999 indicated that turnaround time for the life cycle of an incident report decreased from 53 to 12 days. At least 20 hours a month were saved in transcription and data entry time using the new system. DISCUSSION: Although incident reporting is now more streamlined and efficient, a few issues have emerged that need to be addressed, some relating to users' incorrect entering of information. Improvements are still being made to the system on an ongoing basis.