Patient's safety and hospital administration.

In November 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that about 98,000 patients die in U.S.A. as the result of medical errors in hospitals each year. This critical issue of medical errors and patient's safety has received much attention in the world. Many countries including the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, etc., have launched initiative programs to reduce medical errors and to improve patient's safety. In Taiwan the patient's safety program has started since February 2003 when a national patient's safety committee was established in the Department of Health (DOH), Executive Yuan, Taiwan. In November 2003, the National Health Research Institute (NHRI) of Taiwan has held a nationwide conference for health policy. The consensus how to reduce medical errors and to improve patient's safety was reached at this meeting.