Free from Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety Improvement

The [US] National Patient Safety Foundation convened an expert panel to reflect on the publication of the To Err Is Human report from fifteen years ago and to consider the current state of the patient safety field look to the future 15 years. The report of the panel calls for the adoption of a total systems approach and a culture of safety, and calls for action by government, regulators, health professionals, and others to place higher priority on patient safety science and implementation. The report includes eight recommendations:

1. Ensure that leaders establish and sustain a safety culture
2. Create centralized and coordinated oversight of patient safety
3. Create a common set of safety metrics that reflect meaningful outcomes
4. Increase funding for research in patient safety and implementation science
5. Address safety across the entire care continuum
6. Support the health care workforce
7. Partner with patients and families for the safest care
8. Ensure that technology is safe and optimized to improve patient safety

Free from Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety Improvement Fifteen Years After To Err Is Human. Expert Panel Convened by The National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute

Boston: National Patient Safety Foundation; 2015