An Overview of Patient Safety Activities

Hirose Masahiro

doi:10.4091/iken.16.33

In Japan, patient safety activity began just after the occurrence of a medical accident at Yokohama City University Hospital on January 11th, 1999. In the USA, the IOM issued its first report on patient safety in November, 1999. The year 1999 has left a profound impression on Japanese and American health care professionals.<br>In 2001, the Board of Japanese National University Hospital Directors proposed some measures to secure patient safety. They were to assign a full-time risk-manager, establish a Committee of Preventing Medical Accidents, implement an incident reporting system, and so on.<br>By contrast, as of October 1, 2003, the Health Ministry mandated that the directors of all hospitals and clinics with beds initiate four measures for securing patient safety.: 1) a guideline of administration for patient safety, 2) an intra-institutional reporting system, 3) a committee on patient safety, 4) education on patient safety for staff. Furthermore, The Health Ministry mandated that all hospitals with special functions (Tokutei-Kinou Byouin) and teaching hospitals (Rinshou-Kenkyu Byouin) perform some measures in April, 2004.<br>Immediately after the occurrence of a medical accident at the end of February 2000, Kyoto University Hospital (KUH) started taking some steps regarding patient safety. This case forced KUH in the direction of securing patient safety. KUH arranged two General Risk Mangers and adopted an incident reporting system. Additionally, in April 2002, KUH established a Patient Safety Division, which consists of three full-time staff members (a doctor, a registered nurse and an officer), under the direct supervision of the Hospital Director.<br>In the text, our patient safety activities at KUH are introduced from the view-points of daily activities and emergencies.

An Overview of Patient Safety Activities

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