Do you know what started the patient safety movement in Canada?  Here are a few of the seminal works on patient safety:

Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS (eds).  To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.  Washington DC: National Academy Press; 2000.  Excerpts available from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309068371

In 1999 the Institute of Medicine in the United States released this seminal report that concluded that more people die in a given year in the United States as a result of medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.  As a result of this report, the patient safety movement was launched. 

Baker GR, Norton PG, Flintoft V, et al.  The Canadian Adverse Events Study: the incident of adverse events among hospital patients in Canada.  CMAJ.  2004; 170 (11): 1678-1686.  Freely available from: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/170/11/1678

In 2004, the Canadian Adverse Events Study was released and reported that 7.5% of patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Canada experienced one or more adverse events.  15,000 deaths from adverse events could have been prevented.

Disclosure Working Group.  Canadian Disclosure Guidelines.  Edmonton AB: Canadian Patient Safety Institute; 2008 May.  Freely available from: http://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/English/toolsResources/disclosure/Pages/default.aspx

The Canadian Disclosure Guidelines build on various patient safety initiatives currently underway across Canada and are intended to assist and support healthcare providers, inter-professional teams, organizations, and regulators in developing and implementing disclosure policies, practices and training methods across Canada.

These guidelines symbolize a commitment to the patient's right to be informed if they are involved in an adverse event, by promoting a clear and consistent approach to disclosure, emphasizing the importance of inter-professional teamwork, and supporting learning from adverse events.

The development and approval of the Canadian Disclosure Guidelines is a significant achievement in healthcare in Canada.

Orvie Dingwall, BA, MLIS

Outreach Services Librarian

Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library

University of Manitoba

email: orvie_dingwall@umanitoba.ca

phone: 204.977.5660

website: http://mhiknet.lib.umanitoba.ca/