Founded in 2012, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is the only non-profit 501(c)(3) that has publicly committed to eliminating preventable patient deaths in hospitals. At the same time, they are setting up Regional Networks to duplicate efforts abroad. Medical errors are one of the leading causes of harm and death across the globe. The Foundation has worked with the world’s leading clinicians, hospital CEOs, healthcare technology CEOs, patient advocates and government leaders to create 39 Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) under 18 umbrella topics. These APSS are made available to every hospital and clinician free of charge. For patients, a free mobile App, PatientAider, empowers their loved ones to better navigate their hospitalization. The Foundation also convenes the annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit. Speakers and panelists include clinicians, researchers, patients, world leaders, senators, ministers of health and innovators from around the world.
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
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
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. ISBN978-1-84663-954-8. ISSN1474-8231
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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