Patient Safety: We've Come a Long Way

Patient safety has come a long way since the release of the 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human. This report revealed the immense size of the problem of preventable adverse events - events that in the past we assumed were "just complications" occurring in the normal course of diagnosis and treatment. Simultaneously, shining the light on patient safety "took the lid off quality." Those of us involved in healthcare provision always had a commitment to providing high-quality care, yet the focus of many key stakeholders on the importance of high-quality healthcare had been limited. The focus tended to be disproportionately on the rising cost of healthcare rather than a balanced focus on quality. Now, we respect the imperative of achieving high-quality healthcare.