Chapter 10 - Patient safety

Abstract

Patient safety is at the foundation of the healthcare system. At the same time, the healthcare system is complex, and ensuring patient safety requires focused efforts from all levels of the healthcare team. Patient safety reports have drawn media attention to the lack of safety for patients in healthcare organizations. During the past decade, estimates of patient harm occurring in hospital care during medication and surgery have focused people's (policymakers') attention on identifying specific evidence in medical databases related to preventable adverse events. Errors that can be minimized and prevented in adverse effects include those of commission, omission, context, and diagnosis. Identification of adverse events in medication and medical records estimates results from a conventional approach that primarily targets commission errors with less focus on finding other types of errors. The estimated number of premature deaths because of preventable harm to patients increases daily, and serious harm in previous years has sometimes occurred in numbers greater than deaths. The lack of qualified health professionals is identified as a major factor hindering patient safety in health care. Despite awareness, the inadequate number of health professionals per capita in economically disadvantaged countries needs to be cultivated. It is important to ensure that efficient and qualified health professionals must be produced in the world community. Furthermore, it is also important to set up a good education system in both academic and study training settings to ensure the effectiveness of education and training.