The National Patient Safety Foundation has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997—to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does.

From transformative strategic initiatives to tactics, tools, and vital information resources, from the front lines of care to the leadership level, NPSF defines and develops groundbreaking programs designed to accelerate positive change and drive forward the patient safety mission.

The National Patient Safety Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Our Definitions

Patient Safety: The prevention of healthcare errors, and the elimination or mitigation of patient injury caused by healthcare errors.

Healthcare Error: An unintended healthcare outcome caused by a defect in the delivery of care to a patient. Healthcare errors may be errors of commission (doing the wrong thing), omission (not doing the right thing), or execution (doing the right thing incorrectly). Errors may be made by any member of the healthcare team in any healthcare setting.

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View or download our overview brochure.