April 7, 2006

Training milestone for new safety reporting system

The new web-based safety reporting system reached an important milestone last week. More than 2,000 MGH employees have attended the training sessions to learn how to use the new system, which should dramatically improve the way employees can report any safety concerns, incidents or "near misses." By replacing the paper incident reports, the new system makes safety reporting easier, allows faster follow-up on reports and provides an opportunity to make quicker improvements.

Since training began March 6, employees have been able to attend unit-based training in patient care areas and go to open forums with other employees from various departments and clinical services. Numerous others have completed independent study using the online tutorial or the self-training module on the safety reporting website at http://safety.massgeneral.org.

"We have received tremendous feedback so far from the employees who have gone through the training," says Deborah Mulloy, RN, of the Office of Quality and Safety and the training coordinator for the new system. "People feel that the new system is easy to use and will make reporting incidents a much simpler process."

One of the key features of the new system is the interface with the existing MGH patient, drug and equipment databases, making it easier for people who report an incident to select the necessary information. "When people use the search functions to select from the database menus, it makes the review and triage much easier," says Helena Gautreau, RN, triage nurse in the Office of Quality and Safety. "It helps minimize any difficulty in interpreting people's handwriting or tracking down the specific source of the problem."

The paper forms will be available until all training is completed. Training is being rolled out in three phases, which will be completed within the next six to nine months. Phase two will begin June 1.

Visit safety.massgeneral.org for more information about training — including schedules, online tutorials and self-training modules — or call (617) 726-0167. For help reporting an event using the new system, page the Safety Reporting-Help beeper at 1-2355.