Definitions of Patient safety

The Council of Europe (CoE) has been working on a glossary of terms relating to patient safety. We would like to find out whether there is a standard recognised definition of patient safety being used in your country and if so, how does it match the definitions the CoE are considering. The CoE translations of patient safety are:

• French : sécurité des patients


• Spanish : seguridad clínica


• German : patientensicherheit

• patient safety : freedom from accidental injuries during the course of medical care; activities to avoid, prevent, or correct adverse outcomes which may result from the delivery of health care. (IOM, 2000; AHA&HRET&ISMP, 2002)


• patient safety : the identification, analysis and management of patient-related risks and incidents, in order to make patient care safer and minimise harm to patients. (IOM, NPSA, 2004)

National agencies/bodies/institutions

In most countries there are national agencies/institutions which specialise in patient safety or are responsible for reducing the number of patient safety incidents. The overview shows their role, their areas of expertise and their contact details.