Report Notes Progress in Patient Safety Efforts

Fifteen years after the Institute of Medicine brought public attention to the magnitude and risk posed by errors in clinical practice, patient safety concerns remain a serious public health issue, according to a report released by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). Asserting that patient safety must be tackled “with a more pervasive response,” the report, “Free from Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety Improv ement Fifteen Years After ‘To Err Is Human,’” calls for establishing a systematic approach to pa – tient safety.

The report (available at npsf.org/free-from-harm) calls for action by government, regulators, health care professionals and other stakeholders to place higher priority on the science and implementation of patient safety practices. Among its recommendations are to ensure that practitioners establish and sustain a “culture of safety,” and address safety issues across the entire continuum of care. It also calls for establishing a common set of metrics that promote safe and successful outcomes.

“The field of patient safety has not achieved enough, despite definite progress having been made,” notes NPSF President and CEO Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS. “Health care is still not nearly as safe as it can and should be, and the recommendations of this report set a path for achieving total system safety and making safety a primary focus.”