About the Patient Safety Movement

The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is a global non-profit on a mission to eliminate preventable patient deaths. PSMF uniquely brings patients and patient advocates, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers together under the same cause. From our Actionable Patient Safety Solutions and industry Open Data Pledge to our World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit and more, PSMF won’t stop fighting until we achieve zero.

Media Contact

Leslis Licano
949.733.8679 x 101
psmf@beyondfifteen.com

Our Impact

Click to view organizations involved with the Patient Safety Movement

4793

Hospitals committed to ZERO Preventable Deaths
93276

Lives saved annually by committed hospitals*

*Numbers are self-reported
92

Healthcare technology companies that have signed the Open Data Pledge
94

International Partners

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Patient Safety Challenges
Support Care
Creating a Foundation for Safe and Reliable Care
Person-and-Family-Engagement
Person and Family Engagement
Hand-off-Communications
Hand-Off Communications
Patient-Safety-Curriculum
Patient Safety Curriculum
Mental-Health
Mental Health
Delirium
Pain Management
Restraint Safety
Airway-Safety
Airway Safety
Ventilation Management
Embolic-Events
Embolic Events
Cardiopulmonary Emergencies
Patient-Blood-Management
Patient Blood Management
Enteral Tube Safety
Severe Hyperglycemia
Severe Hypoglycemia
Blood Glucose Management
Obstetric Safety
Neonatal-Safety
Neonatal Safety
Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs)
Healthcare-Associated Infections
Sepsis
Safe Surgery
Prevention of Skin Breakdown
Falls and Mobility
Medication Safety
Medication Management

Press Releases

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Dr. Mike Durkin Assumes Role As Vice Chairman of Patient Safety Movement Foundation Board of Directors

IRVINE, CALIF. –The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), a global non-profit on a mission to achieve zero preventable patient deaths […]

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Statistics

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Blood transfusions also are associated with longer hospital stays – slightly more than two extra days on average1
1.

Department of Anesthesia. (2019, January 23). Retrieved from https://medicine.uiowa.edu/anesthesia/content/anemia-management-improves-patient-safety-lowers-costs

Breakdowns in communication were the leading cause of sentinel events (death or serious harm to a patient that requires further review) reported to The Joint Commission between 1995 and 20062
2.

The Joint Commission. (2013). Sentinel Events (SE). Retrieved from https://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/CAMH_2012_Update2_24_SE.pdf

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that nearly half of hospital staff believe patient information is lost during transfers across hospital units or during shift changes3
3.

Sorra, J. and Nieva, V. F. (2004). Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

With 67% of patients facing unintended medication discrepancies in the hospital and more than 40% of medication reconciliation errors resulting from miscommunications in handoffs, medication safety has become a leading priority for patients and caregivers4
4.

Tam, V. C. (2005). Frequency, type and clinical importance of medication history errors at admission to hospital: a systematic review. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 173(5), 510–515. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.045311

It is estimated that as high as 80 percent of medical bills contain errors5
5.

Gooch, Kelly. (2016). “Medical billing errors growing, says Medical Billing Advocates of America.” Becker’s Hospital Review. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/medical-billing-errors-growing-says-medical-billing-advocates-of-america.html

According to the WHO, 1 in 10 patients may be harmed while receiving care in developed countries while receiving hospital care6
6.

World Health Organization. (2018). 10 facts on patient safety. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/patient_safety/en/

According the WHO, European data, mostly from European Union Member States, consistently show that medical errors and health-care related adverse events occur in 8% to 12% of hospitalizations. For example, the United Kingdom Department of Health, in its 2000 report An organization with a memory, estimated about 850 000 adverse events a year (10% of hospital admissions). Spain (in its 2005 national study of adverse events) and France and Denmark have published incidence studies with similar results.7
7.

World Health Organization. A brief synopsis on patient safety. (2010).

According to the WHO, Statistics show that strategies to reduce the rate of adverse events in the European Union alone would lead to the prevention of more than 750 000 harm-inflicting medical errors per year, leading in turn to over 3.2 million fewer days of hospitalization, 260 000 fewer incidents of permanent disability, and 95 000 fewer deaths per year.8
8.

Euro.who.int. (2018). Data and statistics. [online] Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/patient-safety/data-and-statistics

According to the WHO, Patient safety is a serious global public health issue. There is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of a traveler being harmed while in an aircraft. In comparison, there is a 1 in 300 chance of a patient being harmed during health care.9
9.

World Health Organization. (2018). 10 facts on patient safety. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/patient_safety/en/

By 2020, non-communicable diseases are expected to account for 7 out of 10 deaths in developing regions.10
10.

Boutayeb, A., & Boutayeb, S. (2005). The burden of non communicable diseases in developing countries. International Journal for Equity in Health, 4(1), 1.

Unsafe surgery is the third leading cause of death globally.11
11.

Nadmin, P. O. (2015, June 22). Unsafe surgery and anaesethesia lead to third of all deaths. Retrieved December 22, 2016, from http://www.opnews.com/2015/06/safe-surgery-anaesethesia-third-deaths/11529

Did you know? No U.S. standard exists to quantify harm or death due to medical error.12
12.

Donaldson, M. S., Corrigan, J. M., & Kohn, L. T. (Eds.). (2000). To err is human: Building a safer health system(Vol. 6). National Academies Press.

Human error has been implicated in nearly 80% of adverse events that occur in complex healthcare systems.13
13.

Palmieri, P. A.; DeLucia, P. R.; Ott, T. E.; Peterson, L. T.; Green, A. (2008). The anatomy and physiology of error in averse healthcare events. Advances in Health Care Management. 7. pp. 33–68. doi:10.1016/S1474-8231(08)07003-1. ISBN 978-1-84663-954-8. ISSN 1474-8231

Research estimates over 200,000 deaths are attributed to medical errors each year in the United States.14
14.

Donaldson, M. S., Corrigan, J. M., & Kohn, L. T. (Eds.). (2000). To err is human: Building a safer health system (Vol. 6). National Academies Press.

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