Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Safety

Patient safety in healthcare is of utmost importance and can be defined as the absence of preventable harm to patients during the healthcare processes. It may also include reducing the risk of unnecessary harm during the healthcare process to an acceptable minimum. To ensure the sustainable and significant improvements in the safety of health care, clear policies, data to drive safety improvements, organizational leadership capacity, effective involvement of patients in their care, and skilled health care professionals are all required.