Patient safety

Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting, and analysis of medical error that often leads to adverse effects. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported staggering numbers of patients harmed and killed by medical errors. Recognizing the healthcare errors impact, the World Health Organization calls patient safety an endemic concern.

Definition

Patient safety has been defined as the avoidance, prevention, and amelioration of adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from the process of healthcare. The discipline of patient safety is the coordinated efforts to prevent harm, caused by the process of health care itself, from occurring to patients.

History

The history of patient safety is young. The field's development is often attributed to the medical world's responses to the need for a safety culture. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences has played a key role in the patient safety movement.

Patient Safety Factors

There are several key factors that contribute to patient safety. These include communication, compliance with standards and guidelines, healthcare environment, human factors, leadership, learning, medication safety, patient education, risk management, and safety culture.

See Also

• Healthcare Quality
• Medical Error
• Risk Management
• Patient Education
• Medication Safety

References

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