Veiligheid van patiënten in ziekenhuizen

- In various studies outside the Netherlands, it has been shown that a substantial number of patients suffer some kind of damage during their treatment in a hospital. The incidence of these so-called adverse events varies between 2.9 and 16.6; of these, estimates between more than a quarter and up to half are considered to have been avoidable.

- Preventable adverse events can offer a starting point for interventions to increase patient safety. Therefore, a study has been initiated in Dutch hospitals investigating the nature and extent of adverse events and their causes.

- Important goals of the study are to reach a consensus on basic concepts and to improve the research methodology.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2005;149:2153-6