Windows into Safety and Quality in Health Care 2011

This report, Windows into Safety and Quality in Health Care 2011, builds upon the previous years’ Windows reports and offers perspectives on a range of healthcare safety and quality matters in a number of settings. In part, it provides a review of the activities of the past five years. It also anticipates some of the emerging issues and challenges that the Commission may address, including the culture of health care, the importance of patient-centred care, and safety and quality in primary care. For the first time, we are including a perspective of safety and quality in mental health care.

The Windows into Safety and Quality in Health Care 2011 report draws attention to the importance, and challenges, of implementing improvements to the safety and quality of health care. It also highlights some of the experiences and learnings from the Commission’s activities in developing implementation resources and in supporting safety and quality implementation.

Chapters in this report include:

• The challenge of implementation: the theory and science of changing practice to improve health care
• Supporting local implementation
• Developing a positive safety culture
• Improving safety and quality through partnerships with patients and consumers
• Improving safety and quality in mental health care
• Patient safety in primary health care
• Supporting safety in e-health
• Improving surveillance of healthcare associated infection