Patient safety: the search for global solutions

In response to growing concerns about patient safety, the World Health Assembly in 2002 approved Resolution 55.18 which set the stage for the subsequent launch of the World Alliance for Patient Safety. As part of this effort, the World Health Organization jointly designated The Joint Commission and Joint Commission International as its Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety Solutions. This paper describes the experience of the Collaborating Centre in creating an international infrastructure to support the collaborative setting of patient safety solution priorities and the elaboration of specific solutions. The initial nine solutions and the problems they address are briefly summarized.