J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 104(1): 6-8, 2003

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Feature topic

ACTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICAL SAFETY BY ALL PARTIES INVOLVED IN HEALTHCARE

How to prevent medical adverse events and augment the public's confidence in healthcare has become an urgent and one of the highest-priority medical policy issues in Japan. All parties involved in healthcare, such as medical institutions, companies that sell medical supplies and devices, educational institutions, and medical societies, are asked to work together cooperatively in their respective roles to ensure medical safety. Medical institutions, as the facilities that actually provide healthcare, are responsible for improving the safety and reliability of medical treatment. They must do this through appropriate supervision of their organizations and maintenance of their systems under the sound leadership of their management, and they must tackle safety measures by improving their organizations. Medical societies are expected not only to make scientific contributions but also to collect and evaluate information on the risks in their specialties and disseminate the information widely to their members. The national government must clarify the short-and long-term goals for promoting medical safety. At the same time, it must maintain the appropriate environment and coordinate the involvement of concerned parties in the achievement of those goals.

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