Healthcare quality indicators project : Patient safety Indicators report 2009

OECD health Working Papers are designed to make available to a wider readership health studies prepared for use within the OECD. This time, S. Drösler, P. Romano and L. Wei report on the progress in the research and development of the set of patient safety indicators developed by the Health Care Quality Indicators project.

The indicators presented here have been recommended by an expert group for further consideration in international reporting on the quality of care on the key dimension of safety. The indicators have been selected by expert consensus, undergone validity testing and have been tested for comparability. While concern remains related to differences in coding and reporting from administrative hospital databases, the rigor with which the indicator work has been undertaken has resulted in the improved ability of countries to report on the quality of care. The work on the development of the patient safety indicators highlights the technical progress made in constructing measures and the ongoing need for methodological improvements. The indicators reported here should not be considered as making inferences on the state of patient safety in countries, but are intended to raise questions towards improving understanding of the reported differences.

To download the document:
http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2009doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT00006F0A/$FILE/JT03274823.PDF

Furthermore, this fifth edition of Health at a Glance is now available from the Online Bookshop:
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=812009111P1&LANG=EN

It provides the latest comparable data on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. It provides striking evidence of large variations across countries in the costs, activities and results of health systems. Key indicators provide information on health status, the determinants of health, health care activities and health expenditure and financing in OECD countries.

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