How effective are incident-reporting systems for improving patient safety? A systematic literature review.

Stavropoulou C, Doherty C, Tosey P. Milbank Q. 2015;93:826-866.

This systematic review found little evidence that incident reporting systems performed better at identifying safety hazards than other error detection methods. Although incident reporting systems did help enhance processes of care, there was no evidence that even robust systems improved clinical outcomes or safety culture. The limitations of incident reporting were discussed in a previous PSNet perspective.