Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Jun 7;180(11):577-80.
doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06095.x.

Anonymity or transparency in reporting of medical error: a community-based survey in South Australia

Sue M Evans  1 , Jesia G Berry, Brian J Smith, Adrian J Esterman
Affiliations

Anonymity or transparency in reporting of medical error: a community-based survey in South Australia

Sue M Evans et al. Med J Aust. .

Abstract

Objectives: To seek public opinion on the reporting of medical errors and the anonymity of healthcare workers who report medical errors.

Design and participants: A random, representative survey of 2005 South Australians in April 2002, using telephone interviews based on a vignette provided.

Main outcome measures: When a medical error occurs (i) whether the incident should be reported, and (ii) whether the report should disclose the healthcare worker's identity.

Results: (i) Most respondents (94.2%; 95% CI, 93.0%-95.2%) believed healthcare workers should report medical errors. (ii) 68.0% (95% CI, 65.5%-70.5%) of those in favour of reporting believed the healthcare worker should be identified on the report, while 29.2% (95% CI, 26.7%-31.7%) favoured anonymous reporting.

Conclusions: Most respondents believed that, when a healthcare worker makes an error, an incident report should be written and the individual should be identified on the report. Respondents were reluctant to accept healthcare worker anonymity, even though this may encourage reporting.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Publication types