This document discusses patient safety and the World Health Organization's (WHO) efforts to promote it. It notes that 1 in 10 hospital patients are harmed, medical errors cost billions annually, and the chances of being harmed during healthcare (1 in 300) are much higher than during air travel (1 in 1,000,000). The WHO works to improve patient safety through research, public campaigns on hand hygiene and safe surgery, education and training, implementing solutions, and engaging patients. Its goals are to make healthcare delivery safe for all patients by strengthening health systems and addressing this serious public health issue.

1. Patient safety
A global agenda for action

2. What is patient safety
Patient safety is
The absence of preventable harm to a patient during the
process of health care
A component and a result of good quality health services
and quality of care
Improved health outcomes and health status

3. Why patient safety
 1 in 10 patients harmed in hospital care
 14 out of every 100 patients affected by HAI
 2% patients subject to surgical complications for the 234
million surgical operations performed every year
 6.3 events per patient days in the US annually due to
medical devices
 20-40% health spending wasted due to poor quality of
care and safety failures
Sources: WHO global report on evidence on patient safety 2008, WHO 10 facts for patient safety accessed 2015

4. IBEAS report 2011
Source: IBEAS, a pioneer study on patient safety in Latin America, Towards safer health care, WHO, 2011

5. EMRO AFRO report 2011
Source: Patient safety in developing and transitional countries, New insights from Africa and the Eastern Mediteranean , WHO, 2011

6. Costs associated with safety
Summing what
 Additional hospitalization
 Litigation costs
 Infections acquired in
hospitals
 Disability
 Lost productivity
 Medical expenses
How much
Costs associated with safety
failures run into several billion
dollars annually
Costs associated with HAI run into
US$7-8.2 billion annually in US,
€800 million in UK and France,
US$48 million in Turkey
Costs associated with unsafe
injections run into US$535 million
direct medical costs
Sources: WHO global report on evidence on patient safety 2008, WHO 10 facts for patient safety accessed 2015

7. Patient safety is a serious
public health issue
1 in 1000,000 chance of a
traveler
being harmed
while in an aircraft
1 in 300 chance
of a patient
being harmed
during health care

8. WHO and Patient Safety
2002: WHA55.18 resolution: Quality of care-patient safety
2004: official launch of the WHO World Alliance for
Patient Safety – WHO Patient Safety Program
Since 2004:
-over 140 countries have worked to address challenges of
unsafe care
-WHO Patient Safety grew into a multi task program
working with a health system perspective

9. WHO Patient Safety
Currently working on 13 priority action areas
Organized under 5 main work streams
Research
Campaigns
Education and training
Implementing change
Patient engagement

10. Research
Strengthening capacity for patient safety research
 Guide for developing training programs
 Core competencies for patient safety researchers
Methods, measures and tools
 Methodological guide for data poor settings
 Patient safety in primary care
 Rapidly assessing hazards
 Human factors tools
Generating data & research small grants

11. Campaigns
Clean care: ‘Save lives: clean your hands’
 The first patient safety challenge
 136 Member States and autonomous areas pledged
support
 5 May 2015 campaign theme: Strengthening health care
systems and delivery ‘hand hygiene is your entrance
door’
Safe surgery: ‘Safe surgery saves lives’
 The second patient safety challenge
 WHO guidelines on safe surgery and surgical checklist
 Pulse oximetry project
 Patient safety in robotic surgery
 Global initiative for emergency and essential surgical care

12. Education and training
Patient safety curriculum for Medical schools
Patient safety multi professional curriculum
Training for leaders in patient safety
Learning from error workshop materials
Radiotherapy risk profile
Training materials in infection control
Introductory course to patient safety

13. Implementing change
patient safety measures and solutions
Reducing blood stream infections
Information model for patient safety
Reporting and learning systems
Hand hygiene implementation tools
Patient safety checklists
 Safe surgery checklist
 Safe childbirth
 Trauma
 Pandemic care

14. African partnership
for patient safety
“Only by working together
can we address this public
health issue, strengthen
health systems and make
the delivery of health care
safe for every patient in
Africa, every time.”
Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant
Director-General – Health
Systems and Innovation, WHO
 Global partnership focused on
the WHO African region
 Promotes safety improvement
uniting patient safety efforts
 Based on sustainable hospital
to hospital partnership
 First priorities: preventing
health care associated
infections & safe surgery
To register: www.who.int/patientsafety/implementation/apps

15. Patient engagement
Patient safety champions
-A global network
- 21 champions in 2005
- >250 champions today
- >50 countries involved
-An electronic community
-Workshops
- In country
- Regional
- Global
Patients for patients
communication series
 Webinars
 Advocacy
 Literacy
 Engagement
 Patients engagement in
medication safety
 7day mother baby mCheck
tool

16. Patient Activation Measure
‘When patient activation levels change, health outcomes
and costs change too’
J. Green et al, Health Affairs, March 2015
 Largest longitudinal study of Patient Activation Measure
with impact on cost and outcome
 Relationship between changes in activation level and health
outcomes (over 32.000 patients)
 Projected costs 31% lower for high PAM
 Costs 14% higher when moving from PAM 4 to 3
 Costs 27% higher when moving from PAM 4 to 2/1

17. Patient rights & Patient safety
Source: Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks, Delnoy et Hafner editors, WHO Europe 2013

18. Source: Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks, Delnoy et Hafner editors, WHO Europe 2013

19. Integrated approach with patient safety at
the core of high performing health systems
Bringing together all factors
which can potentially
impact the quality and
safety of processes
Engaging the patient as co
producer of own health

20. Acknowledgements
Information sources used in this presentation draw from
WHO patient safety dedicated pages and materials
www.who.int/patientsafety
The WHO Service Delivery and Safety Unit led by
Dr ET Kelley kelleye@who.int
The WHO Patient safety and quality of care program
coordinated by
Dr N Dhingra Khumar dhingran@who.int
The WHO Country Office led by
Dr SL Barber barbers@who.int

21. Thank you
For further questions:
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