Patient safety has long been one of our nation’s most challenging health care issues. The powers that be in our medical system all agree that we have a long way to go to make health care safe, effective and more responsive to patients’ needs. In our complex, fragmented health care delivery system it becomes easy to see how things can go awry.

The numbers are staggering. In 1999 an Institute of Medicine report revealed that there are 44,000-98,000 deaths each year due to medical error. In 2006 the Institute of Medicine reported that 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured, or killed each year by medication errors. In early 2008 the Institute for Health Care Improvement launched a campaign to reduce medical errors by five million over the next two years.

The reality is that a significant number of medical errors can be prevented or even eliminated. Patients are beginning to grasp the importance of taking a proactive role in their health care and are coming to the realization that they are a powerful, yet untapped safety resource. Our goal is to raise public awareness about pressing patient safety issues including adverse events, medication errors, hospital-acquired infections and communication failures.

This site represents a compilation of information, insight, media articles and links to the latest safety news for medical patients. There are literally hundreds of simple, life-saving actions patients and their advocates can utilize to keep themselves safe in our health care system. Read the book, peruse the site regularly for information, and consider sharing your stories, strategies, and successes. Help us stand and bear witness to the fact that we can and must do more to keep patients safe.

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The Empowered Health Care Conference 2009
May 16th, 2009 - Mission Bay Conference Center
San Francisco, California - Conference Website
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