A safety incident reporting system for primary care. A systematic literature review and consensus procedure by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care

BACKGROUND Incident reporting is widely used in both patient safety improvement programmes, and in research on patient safety. OBJECTIVE To identify the key requirements for incident reporting systems in primary care; to develop an Internet-based incident reporting and learning system for primary care. METHODS A literature review looking at the purpose, design and requirements of an incident reporting system (IRS) was used to update an existing incident reporting system, widely used in Germany. Then, an international expert panel with knowledge on IRS developed the criteria for the design of a new web-based incident reporting system for European primary care. A small demonstration project was used to create a web-based reporting system, to be made freely available for practitioners and researchers. The expert group compiled recommendations regarding the desirable features of an incident reporting system for European primary care. These features covered the purpose of reporting, who should be involved in reporting, the mode of reporting, design considerations, feedback mechanisms and preconditions necessary for the implementation of an IRS. RESULTS A freely available web-based reporting form was developed, based on these criteria. It can be modified for local contexts. Practitioners and researchers can use this system as a means of recording patient safety incidents in their locality and use it as a basis for learning from errors. CONCLUSION The LINNEAUS collaboration has provided a freely available incident reporting system that can be modified for a local context and used throughout Europe.