More people die as a result of medical errors than from other common causes of death

Aug 4 2005

More people die as a result of medical errors than from other common causes of death including motor vehicle crashes, breast cancer, and AIDS.

As part of international efforts to improve patient safety, a new website has been created (www.saferhealthcare.org.uk), run by a partnership of the National Patient Safety Agency, the BMJ Publishing Group, and the US-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Its aim is to be a valued source of peer reviewed tools and information to help practitioners make changes in their organisations.

In an editorial in this week’s BMJ, Glyn Elwyn, Editor of saferhealthcare, says: “It’s becoming clear that providing safe and effective care requires not only expert clinicians, but also well designed care processes and organisational supports. We are confident that this initiative is an important step towards embedding safe practice into everyday clinical behaviour.”

He calls on all health care professionals to get involved and become part of the patient safety story.

Contact:
Glyn Elwyn, Clinician Editor of saferhealthcare, Centre for Health Sciences Research, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales
Tel: +44 (0)29 2022 72727
Email: [email protected]