Activities

Sue Sheridan calls on all nations to prioritize Diagnostic Safety at the 6th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety 

Santiago, Chile

Sue Sheridan

Sue Sheridan, Sir Liam Donaldson and Hardeep Singh

World Health Organization announces

Patient Safety Rights Charter

CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure

LitHealth Podcasts

Lit Health will be lighting a fire underneath the status quo of healthcare through interviews with authors, healthcare leaders, and policymakers working to create a healthcare environment that is equitable, transparent, and that welcomes the needs of every patient – especially our vulnerable populations including the mentally ill, people of color and women who feel they are at risk in our current system, the elderly, and anyone who feels bias or the isms affect their health and quality of life. Join us to stoke the fire! We want to hear the health-related stories from our listeners on both sides of the bedrail, the courtroom, and the aisle.

September 17, 2023

PFPS US, Sponsors and Friends marched in Washington, DC for World Patient Safety Day

Disclosing medical errors: prioritising 

the needs of patients and families

Journey to ”0” Harm

Lessons learned from 

Finland, Norway, & England

Panelists included:

Rosie Benneyworth, Interim Chief Investigator, Healthcare Safety Investigation Board (HSIB) in the United Kingdom.

Hanna Tiirinki, Chief Safety Investigator, Safety Investigation Authority Finland (SAIF)

Synnove Serigstad, Head of Relations & Learning, Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board, (NHIB/UKOM)

On June 30, 2023 Patients for Patient Safety US convened a community of patient safety leaders and learners from many countries to hear from representatives of the independent patient safety investigation agencies in Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom. Each of the three agencies are less than five years old and still evolving their roles. We asked the panelists to join us in sharing lessons learned so far about the role their organizations play, the criteria used in launching investigations and how they work with other oversight bodies in their nations.

Armando Nahum speaks on "Hospital Associated Infections: The Patient's Perspective"

June 15, 2023

Col. Steven Coffee speaks on: "Engaging Patients to Improve Diagnostic Safety"

May 23, 2023

Sue Sheridan Podcast on IHI "Turn on the Lights"

Hosted by Don Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, and Kedar Mate, MD, President and CEO at IHI, Turn on the Lights is a podcast that aims to improve healthcare worldwide by shedding light on healthcare issues through thought-provoking conversations.


By demystifying healthcare problems, we hope to activate both the public and healthcare professionals to help us accelerate changes leading to health and healthcare improvements worldwide. Our discussions cover various topics such as healthcare delivery, health equity, quality, and social justice. The podcast features solutions from around the world and encourages listeners to take action.

CMS Quality Conference 2023

This year, PFPS US was given three very important sessions:


  1. Advancing Patient Safety through Patient and Family Engagement: Sue Sheridan

  2. The Patient Safety Revival! What if?: Carole Hemmelgarn, Soojin Jun, Armando Nahum and Steven Burrows

  3. Who Can Save Patient Safety?: Carole Hemmelgarn, Martin Hatlie and Col. Steven Coffee

Patients for Patient Safety US (PFPS US) submitted the following:

Public Comment on January 26, 2023.

Request for Information on Creating a National Healthcare System Action Alliance

To Advance Patient Safety (FR Doc. 2022-26897)

Patients for Patient Safety US Supports Proposed National Patient Safety Board

to Combat Devastating Medical Errors

 

Preventable harm in healthcare is the third largest

cause of death in the United States.

Here's how a proposed new federal agency would

seek to reduce these injuries and save lives.

National Patient Safety Board

Talking Points for Patients

How Would a National Patient Safety Board (NPSB) Benefit Patients and Families?

Download File

IHI Forum 2022

Carole Hemmelgarn, Soojin Jun, Desiree Collins Bradley and Beth Daley Ullem


Armando Nahum is invited by Secretary Xavier Becerra from HHS to address Patient Safety.

November 14, 2022


HHS Convening to Advance Patient Safety

"Patients and Professionals Together"

Sue Sheridan and Armando Nahum speak at:
Sala Convegni Associazione Titolare di Farmacie
La Spezia, Italy

October 19, 2022


Who Killed Patient Safety


Carole Hemmelgarn & Martin Hatlie



October 27, 2022


"Actionable Solutions Toward National Patient Safety Oversight"

Our Guest Speakers:

Dr. Rosie Benneyworth, Healthcare Safety Investigation Board (HSIB)

Dr. Hanna Tirinki, Safety Investigation Authority Finland (SIAF)

Sinnøve Serigstad, Norway Healthcare Investigation Board (UKOM)

Steve Burrows speaks at Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) on Patient Safety

Leapfrog Judie Burrows Education Institute

The 2022 Leapfrog Greenlight Gala: Steve Burrows Keynote

Sue Sheridan - PCAST

Sue Sheridan speaks at the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

Sue Sheridan

Sue Sheridan speaks at the WHO World Patient Safety Day 2022 Global Virtual Event, September 15, 2022.

Lt. Colonel Steven L. Coffee

Promotion Ceremony for Steven L. Coffee

Armando Nahum

A Tribute to Chrissie Blackburn

Armando honors Chrissie Blackburn at the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) on September 12, 2022

Sue Sheridan

On March 25, 2022, former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught was found guilty of criminal negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult for her role in the death of 75-year-old patient Charlene Murphey. The trial – a rare example of a health professional facing prison for a medical error that happened as a result of many contributing systems factors – was closely watched by clinicians, hospital staff, and patient safety advocates.


Patients, families, and the public must be able to trust that organizations providing care, and the oversight organizations that protect the public, are doing their jobs and can be held accountable. In addition, those who provide care must be able to feel safe to speak up and report mistakes (as is their professional ethical responsibility) to guide improvements that reduce harm.



Members of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Lucian Leape Institute, Julianne M. Morath, BSN, MS, CPPS, an advisor and leadership coach in quality and patient safety; Susan Sheridan, MIM, MBA, DHL, a founding member of Patients for Patient Safety; and Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke about this loss of trust from various perspectives.

Addressing the loss of trust in safety culture

Kayoko "Ky" Corbet

As a RN patient advocate, I hear all kinds of horror stories firsthand from the patients and their families related to medication harm. We CAN and MUST reduce unnecessary suffering!


A little more caution and understanding of the patient on the prescribing doctor's part, a care partner who verifies the medications, and overall more teamwork and caring culture.


Solutions I like to see are: 


  1. Empower the patients to understand their healthcare
  2. Be and use a care partner (advocate)
  3. Promote teamwork among the care team including the patient and the care partner

June 10, 2022

Sue Sheridan & Armando Nahum present at:


VI Congreso Internacional en Seguridad del Paciente

and recognized as Honorary Members

Sue Sheridan

Sue speaks at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Armando Nahum

Armando speaks at the 19th Presidential Advisory Committee for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) Public Meeting

Lt. Col. Steven Coffee and

Martin J. Hatlie

Steven and Marty speak at RLDatix on Patients for Patient Safety: "Activating the Patient Voice to Drive Safety & Equity"

Carole Hemmelgarn

Carole speaks at American Board Internal Medicine Building Trust webinar: "Communication after Medical Harm"

Madison, Wisconsin:


The Wisconsin Legislature’s first Patient Safety Advocacy Day is taking place in the State Capitol today.


At a press conference this morning, Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) was joined by Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) to discuss three bills proposing remedies to help prevent and mitigate medical error tragedies.


“Over the last several legislative sessions, I have worked with families who shared their heartbreaking experiences with medical errors that harmed and took the lives of their loved ones. I was deeply moved by their stories,” said Rep. Sinicki.


Read Press Release

This Hope4Med podcast features Pharmacist Soojin Jun, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety US and patient advocate with a passion for patient safety, quality improvement, and health equity. Dr. Jun shares the life-changing experience that affected her family and led to her career in healthcare.


We discuss the importance of effective communication in healthcare, not only between patients and providers but also between providers. Miscommunications can cost a life. We also explore how burnout and moral injury can further harm when healthcare professionals are not functioning at their optimal level. ***She also reveals how she has met Margo and Stephen Burrows, the producer and director of award-winning HBO documentary, Bleedout, and co-founders of Patients for Patient Safety US.


Hear the Podcast

Soojin Jun

Margo and Steve Burrows

Soojin Jun speaks at the World Health Organization on: "World Without Harm"

Isabela Castro

Recorded at ISqua'PCC strategy for

"What Matters To You" day.

Soojin Jun

IN THE NEWS

Patient Safety Activists Unite to Implement Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the United States

Patients for Patient Safety US calls upon government and healthcare leaders to achieve new World Health Organization recommendations on reducing medical errors.

Atlanta, GA (September 1, 2021).  A group of patient safety advocates in the United States have come together to actively support implementation of the new World Health Organization (WHO) Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 in our country. Led by Sue Sheridan, a longtime patient safety advocate from Boise ID, the group organized as the United States branch of Patients for Patient Safety, an international network established by WHO in 2004.

Read Press Release

Patient Safety Representatives Unite to Implement Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the United States

October 7, 2021 by Armando Nahum, Patients for Patient Safety U.S., Founding Member

Armando Nahum is a founding member of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. as well as co-founder and president of Safe Care Campaign, an organization dedicated to infection prevention. 

Armando Nahum is a founding member of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. as well as co-founder and president of Safe Care Campaign, an organization dedicated to infection prevention.

Preventable harm in the healthcare system is an urgent public health challenge, internationally and in the United States.  Globally, more people die now from medical errors or other breakdowns in the quality and safety of healthcare services than from lack of access to them. (1) Researchers estimate that medication errors, preventable infections, venous thromboembolism, falls, and other preventable harms in hospitals take the lives of 400,000 or more Americans annually. (2)(3)

Read Blog

Having a patient in the room changes the discussion

At professional meetings and conferences dealing with patient safety and quality, I have consistently observed one key theme: having a patient or family member in the room changes everything. The tone of the discussion is kinder and more respectful, and there is greater urgency to find solutions. Their presence exerts a gravitational pull, shifting the balance of discussion toward the patient perspective. Patient participation also helps to engage and motivate health professionals to make improvements. The best way to engage is by storytelling, and the most effective stories are stories about patients, told by them.

Read Editorial

How to effectively engage patients and families in quality improvement: a deep, transparent partnership

Increasingly, healthcare organizations are leveraging the unique perspective of patients and families to drive organizational change.

As recipients of care, patients and families are well-positioned to add immense value as equal partners in efforts to advance health-care quality.

Read published paper

Action on patient safety will help achieve the health care system we deserve

The United States spends more on health care than any country in the world, but it has made almost no progress in reducing medical error harm. Best estimates indicate 210,000 - 400,000 patients continue to die each year from preventable harm in U.S. hospitals alone, a death toll that positions medical error as the third largest cause of death. Unsafe care in the form of poor infection control or lack of personal protective equipment has also fueled preventable death during the pandemic, including patient and staff losses. Some rare by disease and others by an increase in errors.

Read the article

Letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra

Re:  Request for a meeting to discuss a Patient Safety Strategy


Dear Secretary Becerra,


Motivated by the loss of newborns, husbands, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and other loved ones caused by medical errors, we write now to request a meeting to explore ideas and advance solutions that can reduce the magnitude of death and harm caused by unsafe care.  We are Patients for Patient Safety US (www.pfps.us), an advocacy group of patients, family members and advocates organized as the United States branch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Patients for Patient Safety Program.  We offer our partnership to the Department of Health and Human Services as the principal agency accountable for protecting the health of all Americans.

Read the letter

Health Care Safety during the Pandemic and Beyond — Building a System That Ensures Resilience

For about two decades, the U.S. health care system was making strides in improving patient safety, as demonstrated by the reduction of health care–associated infections and other complications of care.

Read the Perspective

National Association for Healthcare Quality Partners with Patients For Patient Safety in Support of the Implementation of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan

CHICAGO (March 15, 2022) — Today, the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), the only organization dedicated to healthcare quality professionals, announced its partnership with the founders of the United States branch of Patients For Patient Safety (PFPS US), an international network of patient and family representatives established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004, to actively support implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 (GPSAP) towards eliminating avoidable harm in health care. This partnership will further the mission of NAHQ to advance quality by reducing variability in care delivery and driving value through improved outcomes.

Read Press Release

  • PFPS US Press Release

    Patients for Patient Safety US calls upon government and healthcare leaders to achieve new World Health Organization recommendations on reducing medical errors.


    Atlanta, GA (September 1, 2021).  A group of patient safety advocates in the United States have come together to actively support implementation of the new World Health Organization (WHO) Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 in our country. Led by Sue Sheridan, a longtime patient safety advocate from Boise ID, the group organized as the United States branch of Patients for Patient Safety, an international network established by WHO in 2004.


    Read Press Release

  • CDC Blog

    October 7, 2021 by Armando Nahum, Patients for Patient Safety U.S., Founding Member

    Armando Nahum is a founding member of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. as well as co-founder and president of Safe Care Campaign, an organization dedicated to infection prevention. 

    Armando Nahum is a founding member of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. as well as co-founder and president of Safe Care Campaign, an organization dedicated to infection prevention.

    Preventable harm in the healthcare system is an urgent public health challenge, internationally and in the United States.  Globally, more people die now from medical errors or other breakdowns in the quality and safety of healthcare services than from lack of access to them. (1) Researchers estimate that medication errors, preventable infections, venous thromboembolism, falls, and other preventable harms in hospitals take the lives of 400,000 or more Americans annually. (2)(3)


    Read Blog

  • Dr. Albert W. Wu

    At professional meetings and conferences dealing with patient safety and quality, I have consistently observed one key theme: having a patient or family member in the room changes everything. The tone of the discussion is kinder and more respectful, and there is greater urgency to find solutions. Their presence exerts a gravitational pull, shifting the balance of discussion toward the patient perspective. Patient participation also helps to engage and motivate health professionals to make improvements. The best way to engage is by storytelling, and the most effective stories are stories about patients, told by them.


    Read Editorial

  • Oxford University

    Increasingly, healthcare organizations are leveraging the unique perspective of patients and families to drive organizational change.


    As recipients of care, patients and families are well-positioned to add immense value as equal partners in efforts to advance health-care quality.


    Read Published paper

  • The Hill

    The United States spends more on health care than any country in the world, but it has made almost no progress in reducing medical error harm. Best estimates indicate 210,000 - 400,000 patients continue to die each year from preventable harm in U.S. hospitals alone, a death toll that positions medical error as the third largest cause of death. Unsafe care in the form of poor infection control or lack of personal protective equipment has also fueled preventable death during the pandemic, including patient and staff losses. Some rare by disease and others by an increase in errors.


    Read the article

  • Letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra

    Re:  Request for a meeting to discuss a Patient Safety Strategy


    Dear Secretary Becerra,


    Motivated by the loss of newborns, husbands, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and other loved ones caused by medical errors, we write now to request a meeting to explore ideas and advance solutions that can reduce the magnitude of death and harm caused by unsafe care.  We are Patients for Patient Safety US (www.pfps.us), an advocacy group of patients, family members and advocates organized as the United States branch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Patients for Patient Safety Program.  We offer our partnership to the Department of Health and Human Services as the principal agency accountable for protecting the health of all Americans.


    Read the letter

  • New England Journal

    For about two decades, the U.S. health care system was making strides in improving patient safety, as demonstrated by the reduction of health care–associated infections and other complications of care.


    Read the Perspective

  • NAHQ Press Release

    CHICAGO (March 15, 2022) — Today, the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), the only organization dedicated to healthcare quality professionals, announced its partnership with the founders of the United States branch of Patients For Patient Safety (PFPS US), an international network of patient and family representatives established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004, to actively support implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 (GPSAP) towards eliminating avoidable harm in health care. This partnership will further the mission of NAHQ to advance quality by reducing variability in care delivery and driving value through improved outcomes.


    Read Press Release

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