Effect of an anonymous reporting system on near-miss and harmful medical error reporting in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Adverse event reporting is a key element for improving patient safety. This study describes a new voluntary, anonymous reporting system that facilitates reporting of near-miss and patient harm events and an assessment of patient harm by the bedside care provider in a pediatric intensive care unit. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the Patient Safety Report as a method to capture near-miss and patient harm events.