Initiatives to Improve Patient Safety

Patient safety initiatives at the national and local level, launched by public and private stakeholders, and embracing large goals or small steps, have proved to be remarkably effective in improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, and saving money. Such initiatives may begin with sweeping concerns, but they ultimately boil down to a list of tactics. Many of these tactical steps are simple, inexpensive, and not particularly difficult to implement. It is highly encouraging that the solutions to many knotty and seemingly overwhelming health care problems can actually be found in a series of small, specific steps crafted in the form of specific health care initiatives.