Abstract

Incident reporting focuses on correcting system and process issues after an incident has occurred. By comparison, near-miss reporting is a means of proactively reporting events that could have resulted in an incident but did not because of timely intervention. Near-miss reporting allows organizations to identify and remedy potential incidents before harm befalls any patients. Recognizing the value of near-miss reporting, University Health Network (UHN) implemented a recognition program to encourage individuals to report near misses. Since the program's implementation in May 2006, near-miss reporting at UHN has increased 38% compared with the same time the previous year.