Oct. 26, 2016 (Ottawa) – HealthCareCAN welcomes a report measuring unintended harm events in Canadian hospitals launched today by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The report is accompanied by a resource tool that will also be beneficial to our members.
“This is a good first step in improving performance and maintaining public trust,” said Bill Tholl, President and CEO of HealthCareCAN. “All health care providers go to work with the intention of helping patients, and as unintended errors are occurring, it’s important to move forward and put in place quality and reliability measures to prevent those errors,” he added.
It is important to note that while the measure is a composite of 31 indicators, the incidents captured in this measure range from those that have minor consequences – such as a urinary tract infection – to those that can result in more adverse outcomes. HealthCareCAN will continue working with CPSI and CIHI to pursue the common goals of quality and patient safety.
“One avoidable harm event is one too many,” added Mr. Tholl. “We know that our members are putting in place systems to prevent harm and this report will help in benchmarking best practices and identifying ways to improve,” he concluded.
HealthCareCAN is the national voice of healthcare organizations and hospitals across Canada. We foster informed and continuous, results-oriented discovery and innovation across the continuum of healthcare. We act with others to enhance the health of the people of Canada; to build the capability for high quality care; and to help ensure value for money in publicly financed, healthcare programs.
– 30 –
Media contact:
Lucie Boileau, Director of Communications, Marketing and Government Relations
lboileau@healthcarecan.dev2.inter-vision.ca
855-236-0213/613-241-8005 x 205
Cell: 613-462-5604
