AIMS Taxonomy: HIT-Classification^TM

AIMS HIT-Classification is a unique and advanced taxonomy based on 15 years of patient safety research. The United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) Patient Safety report of 2004 emphasises that “causal analysis is the most important element of the (incident) report” and directly acknowledges the innovative approach to causal analysis incorporated into the AIMS HIT-Classification schema.

HIT-Classification is built on a complex and powerful tool for de-constructing and classifying incident information - the Generic Reference Model (GRM™). The user is shielded from the complexity of the GRM by interactive, intuitive and user-friendly interfaces called Healthcare Incident Types (HITs™) that use cascading, natural language questions to elicit detailed and context relevant incident information. HITs reduce the training burden and increase the consistency of classification and information collection.

1.	Client defined Incident Notification Form: the what, where, when and who of an incident are entered here.
2.	For use by managers to review incidents, evaluate risks and recommend corrective actions.
3.	Incident type is selected during incident notification.
4.	This is incident classification. It collects additional detail, the how and why, of serious or targeted incidents for comprehensive analysis.
5.	Cascading natural questions guide the notifier to describe the incident in full detail. The resulting data is structured for detailed analysis.
6.	Rules specific to each question provide guidance on choosing the most appropriate answer.