Who owns patient safety?

Is the healthcare system a safe one?  Does it exude confidence on your part?

One of today’s greatest challenges is delivering safer care in complex, fast-moving environments.  We recognize that in such environments, things often can, and do, go wrong.  Adverse events occur; unintentional, but serious harm comes to patients during routine clinical practice, or as a result of a clinical decision.  The World Health Organization describes patient safety as “the absence of preventable harm to a patient during the process of health care.”  Over the past ten years, patient safety has been increasingly recognized as an issue of global importance, but much work remains to be done. According to many researchers and industry experts, the best way to prevent errors from occurring is to focus on organizational systems and the culture within these systems.  Transforming the fabric of an organization and creating the culture of safety that we desire is critical to safe patient outcomes.  Who do you think owns patient safety?  What has been your own experience?