Desirable attributes of an integrated system: from the perspective of users
| The system should: |
| • allow for use at a basic or superficial level, as well as for in-depth deconstruction and detailed descriptions, to facilitate a deep understanding of things that go wrong |
| • be modular so that people do not need to access or view aspects which are of no use to them |
| • present relevant data to the user depending on their area of interest |
| • have the capacity to allow free text when information captured by the “tick boxes” is not sufficient |
| • be able to link the relevant contributing or mitigating factors to each aspect of something that goes wrong |
| • provide definitions, rules, and, where necessary, examples of the concepts on the same computer screen |
| • be practical, intuitive, easy to use, and require limited training |
| • allow users to go online and see what has happened to an incident they reported |
| • provide regular feedback |
| • have adaptive shortcuts tailored to the needs of particular disciplines or areas of health care |
| • be accessible and easy to use with alternatives such as the reporter entering information directly online or communicating with someone who has access to the software, such as a patient safety officer or call centre operator |