Claves y retos en la comparación internacional de la seguridad del paciente: la experiencia del health care quality indicators project de la OCDE

This article reviews the work of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Healthcare Quality Indicators Project in the field of patient safety indicators. The article reflects on the logic for international comparison of patient safety indicators in addition to offering an analysis of the state of the national information systems linked to the measurement of patient safety across industrialized countries. To finish, a strategy to improve the compa-rability and availability of data both nationally and internationally is outlined. This strategy has a three-pronged approach: a) introduction of patient safety in the national agenda; b) development and expansion of national information systems and registries to improve both the quality and availability of data and enhance comparability across countries; c) establishment of a clear link between information and action.