Patient safety in hospitals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Cuperus-Bosma, J.M. | Wagner, C. | van der Wal, G.^;

Affiliations: VU University Medical Centre, Department of Public and Occupational Medicine and EMGO Institute, Postbus 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Netherlands Institute for Research in Primary Health Care NIVEL, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Note: [] Originally published as: J.M. Cuperus-Bosma, C. Wagner and G. van der Wal, Veiligheid van patiënten in ziekenhuizen, Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 149 (39) (2005 Sept. 24) 2153-6. Published with permission of Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd.

Abstract: In various studies outside the Netherlands, it has been shown that a substantial number of patients suffer some kind of injury during their treatment in a hospital. The incidence of these so-called adverse events varies between 2.9% and 16.6%; of these, estimates between more than a quarter and up to half are considered to have been avoidable. Preventable adverse events can offer a starting point for interventions to increase patient safety. Therefore, a study has been initiated in Dutch hospitals investigating the nature and extent of adverse events and their causes. Important goals of the study are to reach a consensus on basic concepts and to improve the research methodology.

Journal: International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 59-64, 2006