Ensuring Patient Safety

Monitoring patient safety is very important, though not easy. It requires strong commitment and serious action from all parties, including the public. A patient safety program should be implemented immediately.

World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) was observed a few days ago on 17 Sept. On this occasion, the need for global action to prioritize patient safety was reiterated.

Prior to 1990, patient safety was not given much attention. The situation changed after the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report in late 1990 that 44,000-98,000 hospital patients in the United States die every year due to medical error. The report was shocking.