Abstract
The “To err is human: building a safer health system” report from the United States Institute of Medicine in 1999 concluded that skilled care activity was not infallible and was likely to cause adverse events. From the early years of the twenty-first century developed countries have focused their interest on citizens in order to reduce the damage of health care systems. All modernization strategies will aim to improve the quality of care. In this context, patient safety is a key component of quality of care. In 2003 the Hastings Center published the report “Promoting patient safety: an ethical basis for policy deliberation”, which provides an ethical reflection on the moral obligations underlying the safety culture developed following the publication of the report To err is human.
Patient safety; Quality management; Ethics professional