Practitioner Duty to Report Substandard Care & Misconduct

March 2023
Researcher: Element Market Research, Inc.

Research study to gauge the extent to which practitioners believe they should be responsible for reporting substandard care and misconduct of fellow practitioners.

Authors

Executive Summary

HRRI asked Element to conduct a research study of practitioners to gauge the extent to which practitioners believe they should be responsible for reporting substandard care and misconduct and identify barriers to reporting.

Objectives

• Gauge the extent to which practitioners believe they should be responsible for reporting substandard care and misconduct of fellow practitioners.

• Identify what, if any, concerns and barriers to reporting practitioners have.

• Gauge the frequency with which practitioners feel they have witnessed, experienced, or heard of substandard care and misconduct instances occurring among their peers and colleagues.

• Determine how aware practitioners are of the ways and channels with which they would use to report offenses.

• Gauge familiarity with and understanding of the roles of healthcare-affiliated and state licensing boards.

• Determine the extent to which practitioners who have recently experienced substandard care and misconduct reported it.

Methodology

• Online survey consisted of 30 questions with a mix of closed and open-ended questions. To quality respondents had to:

  • Be U.S. residents

  • Work in healthcare as their primary role in one of nine provider types.

• 400 surveys completed between April 9 and 24, 2024:

  • Dentist (including a few hygienists) (n=46)

  • Nurse or Nurse practitioner (n=42)

  • Occupational therapist (n=23)

  • Pharmacist (n=42)

  • Psychologist (n=40)

  • Physical therapist (n=43)

  • Physician (n=78)

  • Physician Assistant (n=43)

  • Social worker (n=40)

  • Other (n=3)

Additional Resources

Public Responsibility to Report Substandard Care & Misconduct

Practitioner Perception of the Value of License Renewal/Recertification

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Behavior and Discipline, Public Perception