Incident reporting in surgery: a review of the literature

Abstract

There has been a worldwide recognition to report and learn from error in surgery. Adverse events if identified and reported can serve as learning points to prevent repetition. A number of schemes have emerged to report adverse events both nationally co-ordinated as well as independent voluntary reporting systems. It is envisaged incident reporting of the future will be a process whereby surgeons learn from adverse events from each other globally and collaborate to make healthcare safer.