The Canadian Quality and Patient Safety Advisory Committee is an initiative of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and Health Standards Organization (HSO), together with patients, providers, care organizations, quality and patient safety councils/organizations, researchers and policy makers. The goal of the committee is to establish consensus on quality and patient safety goals for health and social services, which will focus action and resources that improve patient experience, outcomes and reduce care variation.

The advisory committee will work toward designing a national quality and patient safety framework, advising on required quality and patient safety practices as well as resources that support implementation and uptake at the system, organization and practice level. As a result, the committee intends to drive measurable improvements on patient experience, outcomes and unwarranted care variation across Canada.

Despite efforts to date, Canada lags in quality and patient safety compared to developed countries. If no action is taken, roughly 400,000 patients every year will experience preventable harm – and this harm will result in an additional $2.75 billion (2017$) in annual health care treatment costs. According to the OECD, 70% of harm is preventable. Advancement in quality and patient safety requires a coordinated systems approach to safety.

In the near term, the committee will focus on public engagement. Public consultation will include patients, the public (including Indigenous peoples), providers, healthcare delivery and social service organizations, federal, provincial and territorial governments, and other interested stakeholders. This outreach is intended to develop consensus on a Canadian Quality and Patient Safety Framework across key stakeholders that can influence and action improvements.

For more information, please contact: qualityservicesforall@healthstandards.org