When an NCE is identified, it should be documented/reported. All members of the laboratory team should know the basic process of reporting an incident. The information for a suspected incident can come from outside the laboratory to any frontline staff member. This can be accomplished via a paper form or an electronic database reporting screen, either of which should be accessible to everyone on the team. Critical pieces of information to be reported include the following:
- Date and time of occurrence
- Date and time of discovery of the occurrence
- Source of information (internal/external)
- Description of the occurrence
- Remedial action taken, if any
Laboratory management should support an environment where reporting NCEs is non-punitive, open, and honest. Staff members should be trained to recognize significant NCEs and feel comfortable reporting them to management, especially in the interest of patient safety.
