Regional Focus: Danish Society for Patient Safety

In this issue of JCInsight , a new feature, Regional Focus, is launched. Regional Focus features people and organizations at the forefront of global patient safety initiatives.

Danish Society for Patient Safety (DSFP) and the Unit for Patient Safety, Captial Region, Denmark, is the first organization featured in Regional Focus.

Background
The Society was established December 2001 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure that patient safety is a part of all decisions made in Danish health care. In 2001 a Danish pilot study showed that 9 percent of all patients admitted to a Danish hospital are exposed to an adverse event. This fact was the main reason for the establishment of the Society.

The board of the Society consists of representatives from a wide range of stakeholders in Danish health care—health care professionals, patient and research organizations, hospital owners, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, and local government. This composition offers a great possibility for all parties to work together for the common patient safety interest.

The Society gathers, spreads, and develops knowledge and initiatives, and has become an important political actor. The Society was involved in the preparation and passing of the Danish Act on Patient Safety in 2003. The Society also provides advice to legislators and stakeholders, arranges study tours and conferences, suggests standards for safe operation, creates consensus, and initiates projects.

Beth Lilja, M.D. is Head of the Society. Dr. Lilja has served as a representative to The Danish Medical Association’s general assembly and has served on many of the association’s committees and boards, most of which pertain to medical legal work and patient rights. Dr. Lilja currently serves on several other committees, including the Steering Committee of the WHO Collaboration Centre for Patient Safety, the Joint Commission International (JCI) European Regional Advisory Council, and the JCI International Editorial Advisory Board (see story from the July 2009 issue).

Patient Safety Publications and Tools
The Society offers many patient safety–related publications and tools, including the following:

Patient Safety and Hospital Design
The Society launched this project on 1 January 2008. The purpose is to identify the ways in which architecture and design may contribute to preventing the occurrence of adverse events. The project involves the drawing up of a manual for use as a planning tool in future hospital design processes.

Say Sorry
A working group set up by the Society developed a booklet containing a proposal on how to apologize to patients when a serious adverse event happens.

Patient Safety Champions
In cooperation with WHO Global Alliance for Patient Safety, the Society established a corps of 15 Patient Safety Champions in April 2007. The Patient Safety Champions are patients—or close relatives to patients—who have experienced an adverse event in the health care system. Their common interest is preventing adverse events happening to others and promoting the cooperation between patients and the health care system.

Contact the Danish Society for Patient Safety