Definition of a set of instruments and recommendations to improve patient safety through external auditing, and a patient safety toolkit.
Preliminary note
The scope and the purpose of the report
There is a large range of external evaluation mechanisms that play a role in patient safety. For the purpose of this report, however, it was decided to focus essentially on models that were applicable to health care organisations and whose objectives were to assess organisations as a whole. It was felt that this was necessary for the sake of coherence and for the identification of evolutions and trends.
This report deals with external evaluation mechanisms in terms of patient safety. It should be clearly understood that there are other issues and dimensions of quality that external evaluation models, such as accreditation, are organised to address and appreciate. These include respect for patients' rights and responsiveness to patients, continuity and appropriateness of care, capacity and competency of the organisation and health care professionals, efficacy and effectiveness of care. Nevertheless, most external evaluation organisations believe that 40 to 50% of their standards address patient safety issues.
The aim of this report is to give a succinct overview of the trends and issues in terms of external evaluation models for patient safety that will be helpful to health care professionals and decision makers from member states of the European Community. The identification of common principles and tools that can be used within various member states should lead to the sharing of information in terms of patient safety and may contribute to the definition of strategies for European harmonisation.
