Business Wire

Pandemic Spotlights the Urgent Need for a National Patient Safety Board

Share

Today, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation released a detailed white paper and its leadership issued the following statement urging the creation of a National Patient Safety Board:

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200908005576/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

White Paper: National Patient Safety Board (Graphic: Business Wire)

“COVID-19 has exposed the safety gaps in our healthcare system that already cause 200,000 deaths a year. We need a National Patient Safety Board.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is also approaching 200,000, with The New York Times recently reporting that the milestone may already have been crossed when considering that ‘official death counts may be substantially underestimating the overall effects of the virus.’ But even pre-pandemic, more than 200,000 Americans die each year from another epidemic: preventable errors in hospitals. This fact makes preventable medical harm the unspoken third-leading cause of death in the U.S. If you’re shocked, you’re not alone: 79 percent of Americans don’t know that the safety of patients is compromised every day in healthcare.

Health worker safety is patient safety, and we’re at a breaking point in this cause as the death tolls intersect.

The reality is systemic problems in healthcare, such as a failure to embrace a transparent and just culture or the failure to implement known solutions to challenges like healthcare-associated infections and medication safety, have been continuously setting up our health workers for failure and error year after year. Negative OSHA rates, DART rates and the medical profession generally topping the career-burnout lists meant the crisis was always starting on a shaky foundation. Now with COVID-19 pushing health workers to the breaking point, the issue couldn’t be more timely. 2020 has been one of the most challenging and eye-opening years for the issues of safety in our healthcare systems, from effectively equipping and supporting frontline health workers in their important work to equitably serving and treating patients. More than 1,000 caregivers have lost their lives doing what they love doing best – taking care of patients. According to NBC News and a survey conducted by nursing app Holliblu, 62 percent of more than 1,000 respondents said they are planning to quit either their jobs or the profession altogether because of the pandemic. This is unacceptable.

We need a National Patient Safety Board.

Despite the fanfare around medical technology and breakthroughs, the fastest and most sustainable solutions for saving more than 200,000 lives per year -- and more, during pandemics and other extraordinary challenges -- is reducing the number of system and process breakdowns. We must put health workers, and thus patients, first by finally establishing a National Patient Safety Board (NPSB). This would solve the problem in three key ways:

  • Data-driven insight and standards: An NPSB would create and maintain a National Patient Safety Database to receive non-identifiable patient safety work product. The Board would facilitate the reporting, collection, and analysis of patient safety data and the development and dissemination of training guidelines and other recommendations to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety and quality of care.
  • Transparency and accountability: The NPSB would also require an on-going analysis of the patient safety data in the Database and other available data to determine performance and systems standards, tools, and best practices (including peer review) for doctors and other health care providers necessary to prevent medical errors, improve patient safety, and increase accountability within the health care system.
  • Align incentives: An NPSB would save lives and taxpayer dollars by aligning incentives, especially Medicare reimbursements, with proven patient safety protocols.

COVID-19 shouldn’t be the breaking point for our health workers, but it should be the breaking point for our tolerance of the lack of patient safety. Congress must act today on this bipartisan issue.”

About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation

Each year, more than 200,000 people die unnecessarily in U.S. hospitals. Worldwide, 4.8 million lives are similarly lost. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is a global non-profit on a mission to eliminate preventable deaths from hospital errors. PSMF uniquely brings patients and patient advocates, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers together under the same cause. From our Actionable Patient Safety Solutions and industry Open Data Pledge to our World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit and more, PSMF won’t stop fighting until we achieve zero.

For more information, please visit www.patientsafetymovement.org.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Media Contact
Emilie Cole
media@patientsafetymovement.org
717-448-1821

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Year-old European startup Maisa named alongside Google and Amazon in elite list of leading AI agent vendors in top global US research reports by Gartner3.7.2025 02:01:00 EEST | Press release

Maisa, a rising star of enterprise AI, has been named by leading global research and advisory firm Gartner in its list of leading vendors for developing reliable AI agents. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702640749/en/ Maisa founders David Villalón and Manuel Romero Inclusion in Gartner’s 2025 Hype Cycle for AI and Hype Cycle for the Future of Work marks the first time a Spanish startup has been mentioned in these influential reports. The company, which is barely a year old and made its first raise of $5m+ from leading US investors last year, now finds itself named alongside global giants Amazon Web Services, Google, Salesforce and LangChain. The Gartner Hype Cycle for AI Agents provides an overview of emerging technologies in AI, helping organizations navigate the evolving landscape of autonomous software agents. The Hype Cycle for the Future of Work provides CIOs with a crucial human-first lens on the tra

Hoffmann Green Announces a Historic Increase in Production Over the First Half of 2025, Already Outperforming the Annual Volumes Realized in 20242.7.2025 20:05:00 EEST | Press release

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies (ISIN: FR0013451044, Ticker: ALHGR) (“Hoffmann Green Cement” or the “Company”), an industrial player committed to the decarbonation of the construction sector that designs and markets innovative clinker-free cements, today announces a strong acceleration of production over the first half of 2025, validating the relevance of its industrial and commercial business model. Production volumes reached 19,640 tonnes over the first half of 2025, compared with 7,833 tonnes in the first half of 2024, representing a 2.5-fold increase. This very strong level of activity enabled the Company to outperform its total 2024 volumes (16,269 tonnes) over the first half of 2025. This dynamic is illustrated by the supply of more than 130 construction sites across the country during the half-year, exceeding 60,000 m³ of concrete formulated with 0% clinker cement delivered by more than 10,000 truck mixers. Julien BLANCHARD and David HOFFMANN, Co-founders of Hoffmann Green Ce

Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Announces Acquisition of U.K.-based Lyndon Publishing 2 Limited2.7.2025 19:44:00 EEST | Press release

Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (“IREI”) has completed its acquisition of the assets of London-based Lyndon Publishing 2 Ltd (“Lyndon Publishing”), which include The Property ChronicleandThe Green Chronicle.The former Lyndon Publishing 2 will now operate as a division of IREI. The Property Chronicle reaches a global audience of real estate investment professionals, researchers, and academics. Its sister publication, The Green Chronicle, is edited to address the interests and concerns of emerging young talent in these real estate professions. Both publications are produced as weekly news briefings filled with original content and contributed feature articles from industry thought and opinion leaders. In addition, The Property Chronicle is also published as a quarterly, illustrated full-color magazine available in both digital and print formats, while The Green Chronicleis published exclusively in digital format. Together, the two publications reach approximately 50,000 professionals acr

Sinopec Wins Technological Innovation Award at 2 nd Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference2.7.2025 19:21:00 EEST | Press release

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec", HKG: 0386) has won the "Best Scientific and Technological Innovation Practice" award at the 2nd Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference (the "Conference") on June 26 in Stuttgart. Sinopec’s case submission of Breakthrough in Depth, Climb to New Heights — Empowering the Energy and Chemical Industry with Technological Innovation stood out among numerous entries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702387465/en/ Wang Tao, Sinopec representative, delivered a speech at the conference. The Conference reviews and awards the best ESG application cases in six areas of environmental protection, social responsibility, corporate management, scientific and technological innovation, education, and training to further enhance mutual understanding between Chinese and European businesses, facilitate bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and showcase China’s open,

Xsolla Releases Their Q2 2025 The State of Play Report: Mobile Gaming Is Projected to Hit $126B in 2025 Amid Global App Boom With In-Depth Analysis of Trends, Genres, and Monetization Strategies2.7.2025 19:00:00 EEST | Press release

Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, proudly announces the release of the Q2 2025 Edition of “The Xsolla Report: The State of Play.” This detailed report provides crucial insights, trends, and opportunities shaping the gaming landscape, empowering industry professionals to adapt and thrive in today’s rapidly changing market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702208715/en/ Graphic: Xsolla In 2024, global mobile app usage soared to an astonishing 4.2 trillion hours, an all-time high that powered a massive $150 billion consumer spending across mobile platforms. Mobile gaming is leading this charge, which accounted for more than half of that total. Despite a 6% dip in overall game downloads, falling to 49.6 billion, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue surged, indicating deeper user engagement and a more valuable player base. And the momentum is far from over: mobile gaming revenue is projected to grow

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye