For some years patient safety has been an important topic for the design of the healthcare systems in many countries. In Germany we are still in the starting phase of this development. Here, patient safety is not a main focus for research and there is only little funding for these topics. Thus most findings on patient safety have been derived in foreign studies. Slowly, some find their way into the clinical routine in Germany. This paper summarises the state of development of patient safety from a trans-sectoral point of view and outlines essential fields of action for the German healthcare system.
Keywords: EU council recommendation on patient safety; Empfehlungen der EU zur Patientensicherheit; Handlungsfelder; Patient safety; Patientensicherheit; Sektorenübergänge; Sicherheitskultur; Versorgungsprozesse; adverse events; caregiving processes; fields of action; safety culture; sector transitions; unerwünschte Ereignisse.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.