Patient safety: make it a priority for your organization!

Ten years have passed since the lnstitute of Medicine released its landmark report To Err is Human-Building a Safer Health System. Creating public awareness that tens of thousands of Americans were dying every year because of medical errors led to the establishment of multiple agencies and efforts to address this problem. Research on patient safety had originally focused on systems within the hospital setting, and now more attention is directed toward studying processes in the ambulatory setting (e.g., physician practices). This article reviews the research and other tools that are available to help leaders, executives, and providers create safer systems of care for patients seen throughout the physician practice environment.