6 Benefits of Hospital Incident Reporting Software

Hospital incident reporting software has become an indispensable tool for organizations aiming to improve patient and employee safety. In addition to providing a clearer look at gaps in safety processes, incident reporting systems can also enhance communication between teams, boost employee engagement, and facilitate a culture of learning. Read on to learn more about six benefits of hospital incident reporting software.

Enhances Accessibility and Accuracy

Conventional paper reports lack efficiency, as they don’t allow for organizing, sharing, or tracking patient follow-up in a concise manner.

Conversely, incident reporting software automates the event reporting process. As a result, more detailed information around a safety event is collected in a timely manner and busy clinicians and care teams are alerted when they have a role in documenting or analyzing an incident. Automation within a cloud-based system also means improved integration and accessibility; data can be added and accessed from multiple people across multiple locations, simultaneously.

Enhanced accessibility encourages the entire care team – and the patient – to play a role in improving safety.

Reduces Risk of Reoccurrence

One of the most powerful benefits of an incident reporting system is its ability to reduce the risk of event reoccurrence.

Incident reporting systems allow healthcare providers to easily capture, analyze, and share data around safety events, including minor incidents and near misses. As more data is collected and analyzed over time, identified patterns can shed light on organizational gaps directly or indirectly resulting in safety events. As a result, leadership can take corrective action to improve policies and procedures to prevent related events from happening again.

Improves Quality and Safety

Similarly, hospital incident reporting software gives organizations the tools they need to continuously and consistently evaluate their clinical processes and other patient-related operations. As risks are prioritized and corrective interventions are put into place, quality of care is improved and the organization’s safety of culture is strengthened.

Reduces Costs

In OECD countries, the direct cost of treating patients who have been harmed during their care approaches 13% of total hospital expenditures, presenting a considerable drain on healthcare organizations. This amounts to a whopping $606 billion a year, just over 1% of OECD countries’ combined economic output.

Investing in a hospital incident reporting software – and encouraging staff to stay on top of risk mitigation through the submission of incident and event reports – is a proven way to help reduce unnecessary costs.

Promotes Continuous Learning

Using resolved patient incident reports as case studies or in staff training helps prepare a workforce for real-life situations. Staff who learn from past events can better prevent future incidents from occurring.

Fosters a Culture of Safety

Incident reporting provides a way to involve all stakeholders in safety improvement. Everyone can see that their concerns are treated seriously and are acted upon by the organization. In the end, a culture of safety can only be strengthened with two-way communication and everyone being part of it.

Incident reporting software like Performance Health Partners’ can help to streamline the incident management process, making it more convenient for the entire care team to play a role in improving patient and employee safety. Learn how an incident reporting system can help your organization improve outcomes and which key features to look for in a software in our free whitepaper.