Physician Participation

The medical staff should be encouraged to participate in the hospital's incident reporting system. While the same forms may be used, it is preferable to have a specific physician incident report form. The physician forms should be handled in the same manner as the employee incident report forms, except that they will go directly to the administrator rather than to a nursing supervisor. Physician reports can be a good source of information on nursing care and the general level of physician satisfaction with the nursing staff. Physician reports (and nursing reports) that concern the behavior of other physicians should be reviewed through the usual quality control channels as well as by the appropriate medical staff review committee.