Objectives The under-reporting of medication errors can compromise patient safety. A qualitative study was conducted to enhance the understanding of barriers to medication error reporting in healthcare organisations.

Methods Focus groups (with physicians, pharmacists and nurses) and in-depth interviews (with risk managers) were used to identify medication error reporting beliefs and practices at four community hospitals in Nova Scotia, Canada. Audio tapes were transcribed verbatim and analysed for thematic content using the template style of analysis. The development and analysis of this study were guided by Safety Culture Theory.

Results Incentives for medication error reporting were thematised into three categories: patient protection, provider protection and professional compliance. Barriers to medication error reporting were thematised into five categories: reporter burden, professional identity, information gap, organisational factors and fear. Facilitators to encourage medication error reporting were classified into three categories: reducing reporter burden, closing the communication gap and educating for success. Participants indicated they would report medication errors more frequently if reporting were made easier, if they were adequately educated about reporting, and if they received timely feedback.

Conclusions Study results may lead to a better understanding of the barriers to medication error reporting, why these barriers exist and what can be done to successfully overcome them. These results could be used by hospitals to encourage reporting of medication errors and ultimately make organisational changes leading to a reduction in the incidence of medication errors and an improvement in patient safety.