Healthcare | Saturday 25 July, 2015 3:57 pm |

The Patient Safety Movement Foundation announces the 4th annual Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit on Jan. 22-23, 2016 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott, in Dana Point, California. 

Medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States, which lead to more than 200,000 preventable deaths per year. The non-profit Patient Safety Movement Foundation has made a formal commitment to ZERO preventable patient deaths by the year 2020. At the annual summit, leading healthcare professionals, hospital executives, healthcare technology industry leaders, policymakers, and patient advocates will gather to discuss new patient safety challenges identified at the Foundation’s Midyear Planning Meeting and devise Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) to address them. 

“After attending our Summit, participants are quick to share with us that our program is unlike any other conference they have attended,” stated Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. “Our program focuses on highlighting patient safety challenges and helping participants to immediately implement tested solutions. Participants are also asked to make a formal public commitment to zero preventable deaths by 2020 and report the lives they are saving on an annual basis. The question is no longer if zero preventable patient deaths is attainable but how quickly we can attain this goal. Several hospital systems have already reported zero deaths in areas like hospital-acquired infections. The race is on and we will need everyone involved.” 

To date, healthcare professionals and hospital administrators that represent over 840 healthcare organizations have made public commitments that are currently on track to save nearly 15,000 lives in 2015. More than 38 health technology companies have provided a public pledge to share their data in the pursuit of good business practices and patient safety. 

“I have been involved with this movement from the beginning,” stated Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States. “This is an issue that affects each and every one of us. It is taking our loved ones and costing our country approximately $1.26 trillion. Failure is not an option. The hospitals that are leading the way in patient safety are also the ones that have made safety their number one priority.” 

This year the Foundation will also present three winners of the 2015 Patient Safety Movement Innovation Award. The winners will receive prizes totaling $85,000 for process or product innovations that will make significant strides toward eliminating preventable deaths in hospitals.