This report is the first in a series of reports to be produced by the Quality of Health Care in America project. The Quality of Health Care in America project was initiated by the Institute of Medicine in June 1998 with the charge of developing a strategy that will result in a thresh- old improvement in quality over the next ten years. Under the direction of Chairman William C. Richardson, the Quality of Health Care in America Committee is directed to:
- review and synthesize findings in the literature pertaining to the quality of care provided in the health care system;
- develop a communications strategy for raising the awareness of the general public and key stakeholders of quality of care concerns and opportunities for improvement;
- articulate a policy framework that will provide positive incentives to improve quality and foster accountability;
- identify characteristics and factors that enable or encourage providers, health care organizations, health plans and communities to continuously improve the quality of care; and
- develop a research agenda in areas of continued uncertainty.
This first report on patient safety addresses a serious issue affecting the quality of health care. Future reports in this series will address other quality- related issues and cover areas such as re-designing the health care delivery system for the 21st Century, aligning financial incentives to reward quality care and the critical role of information technology as a tool for measuring and understanding quality.