Background 

Error reporting is vital for the prevention of medical errors. Despite the importance of error reporting, underreporting of medical errors is a common reality in many countries. Therefore, barriers to error reporting and reporting systems are a constantly evolving field of research. For this reason, studies on medical error reporting and reporting systems should be evaluated multidimensionally.

Aim 

The aim of this study is to evaluate the global research on medical error reporting and reporting systems through bibliometric analysis to obtain a structured macroscopic overview of the features and developments.

Methods 

A bibliometric analysis of 1464 publications from 1970 to 2021 was performed to map the literature of medical error reporting and assess the structure of the scientific community.

Results 

After 2000, the number of publications increased annually until a maximum of 2020 was reached. The International Journal for Quality in Health Care and the Journal of Patient Safety have been the most productive journals when it comes to publishing on the subject. Trend topics of keyword plus have changed over time. The United States (1399), England (580), and Australia (478) are the 3 nations with the highest number of publications. On the other hand, it is seen that the subject has yet to be discussed in a few developing or underdeveloped countries.

Conclusions 

This bibliometric analysis shows that the number of publications and authors and cross-country cooperation are low regarding error reporting. The low number of publications and the lack of cooperation, especially in developing countries, reveal the importance of global cooperation.