Introduction of a Mobile Adverse Event Reporting System Is Associated With Participation in Adverse Event Reporting

Abstract

Physicians underutilize adverse event reporting systems. Web-based platforms have increased participation; thus, it was hypothesized that a mobile application would increase adverse event reporting. The authors developed a mobile reporting application for iOS and Android operating systems and performed a retrospective review on reporting rates by clinicians in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care. Monthly reporting rates were calculated for the intervention year and for the 2 prior years (2013-2016). The Wilcoxon rank sum test and χ² test were used to evaluate significance. Overall monthly reporting rates for all clinicians were 15.3 ± 7 for the first time period, 17.3 ± 6 for the second time period, and 27.9 ± 7 for the third time period ( P = .0035). The majority of reports in the third time period were submitted using the mobile application (193/337, 57%, P = .026). Deployment of a mobile application reduced barriers to adverse event reporting and increased monthly reporting rates for all clinicians.

Keywords: adverse event reporting; anesthesia; mobile application; patient safety.