Which statement describes the primary purpose of an incident report?
a. This report is used by nurse managers to discipline the nurse for her errors.
b. It is imperative that this report be kept in the patient's medical record in case of a lawsuit.
c. A copy should be provided to the patient to promote open communication.
d. This report is used by risk management to prevent the incident from reoccurring.
D
The main function of an incident report is to prevent the incident from happening again. The report allows the nurse manager and risk management to evaluate the context in which the incident occurred and to identify appropriate strategies to prevent a reoccurrence. Although incident reports have been used to discipline nurses, this is not the current trend and is not their purpose. These reports are not a part of the patient record and therefore are not part of accurate patient charting. A copy should not be shared with the patient.
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