Patient Safety and Medical Errors

Abstract

Patient Safety is considered to be the most important parameter of quality that every contemporary healthcare system should be aiming at. The terms “Patient Safety” and “Medical Errors” are directly linked to the “Safety Culture and Climate” in every organization. It is widely accepted that medical errors constitute an index of insufficient safety and are defined as any unintentional event that diminishes or could diminish the level of patient safety. This chapter indicates that a beneficial safety culture is essential to enhance and assure patient safety. Furthermore, health care staff with a positive safety culture is more probable to learn openly and successfully from errors and injuries.