Patient Safety Movement. White Paper: National Patient Safety Board (8 September 2020)

Summary

Since the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report To Err is Human, it has been known that upwards of 100,000 deaths due to preventable medical errors occur each year. In the twenty years since then, little progress has been made in the way of reducing the number of these deaths and estimates now suggest between 200- 440,000 Americans are dying preventably each year.

One major component many believe is lacking in the United States is a national agency that focuses on responsibility and accountability for patient safety. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation has published a white paper assessing the feasibility of creating a National Patient Safety Board to reduce preventable medical errors in facilities across the country.