Quality Improvement of Incident Reporting of Female Inpatient Ward, Namsom Hospital, Udon Thani Province

Abstract

Introduction: Incident reporting represents a critical component of risk management strategies aimed at reducing adverse events to enhance healthcare service quality and patient safety. Previous operational assessments revealed that incident reporting occurred less frequently than actual incidents, with reports often containing inaccuracies and failing to meet established timelines.

Research objectives: To develop the quality of incident reporting in the female medical ward at Namsom Hospital, Udon Thani Province.

Research methodology: This developmental study employed the FOCUS-PDCA (Find, Organize, Clarify, Understand, Select - Plan, Do, Check, Act) continuous quality improvement framework, comprising nine sequential steps: 1) identifying processes requiring improvement, 2) establishing a knowledgeable team with process understanding, 3) comprehending the target improvement process, 4) understanding causes of process variation, 5) selecting the specific process for improvement, 6) planning the improvement strategy, 7) implementing the improvement plan, 8) monitoring outcomes, and 9) executing actions to achieve favorable results with continuous improvement. The purposive sample consisted of 16 healthcare personnel working in the female medical ward at Namsom Hospital. Research instruments included focus group discussion guidelines, incident reporting protocols, and an incident reporting checklist with documented records, achieving an assessment reliability of 0.9. Data analysis utilized descriptive statistics.

Results: Following implementation of the FOCUS-PDCA continuous quality improvement process, the healthcare team demonstrated the ability to report incidents accurately and comprehensively at rates exceeding 80%, while achieving timely reporting at rates above 80%. However, findings indicated that some personnel incompletely assessed severity levels and identified risks in occurring incidents, attributed to insufficient skills and experience in incident risk analysis.

Conclusion: Implementation of the FOCUS-PDCA continuous quality improvement process resulted in comprehensive, accurate, and timely incident reporting.

Implications: Nursing administrators should provide ongoing support for practice implementation, continuous monitoring and evaluation, skill development and experience enhancement for personnel risk analysis capabilities, and extension of incident reporting quality improvement to other organizational units.