Patient safety

Patient Safety (PS) is a subgroup of indicators within the HCQO database and provides data on adverse events during healthcare activities. Patient safety is a key dimension of healthcare quality, as harm resulting from care can lead to complications, death, and significant healthcare costs – much of which are avoidable through adherence to safety protocols and clinical guidelines. The database includes indicators on obstetric trauma during vaginal delivery as well as postoperative pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and sepsis. Indicators are reported as crude rates.

For further information, please consult:

• The HCQO Definitions document provides indicator definitions and calculation methodologies of HCQO indicators


• The Sources and Methods surveys on Patient Safety (PS) and Hospital Data provide detailed country-specific information


• The OECD’s Health System Performance Assessment (HSPA) Framework outlines how HCQO indicators relate to the OECD’s HSPA domains of Access, Quality and People’s needs and preferences