National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH) has started collecting and analysing the data pertaining to patient safety from accredited and applicant hospitals in the country. NABH has advised all the hospitals to adopt patient safety solutions to improve the functions and quality of their clinical services.

The initiative is in response to the recent WHO initiative to have world alliance for patient safety with six action areas.

Unsafe delivery of care is a global problem and hospitals have started acknowledging the fact that patients are harmed everyday and everywhere in the course of receiving healthcare. So the most important task today is to identify the problems that are contributing to unsafe care and finding the solutions.

Speaking to Pharmabiz, B K Rana deputy director, NABH, said, "In India, NABH is responsible for accreditation of hospitals. We have strongly advised all the hospitals to adopt patient safety solutions to improve the function and quality of their clinical services. Till now only eight hospitals have received accreditation, and more than 50 hospitals are in the process of receiving accreditation. We are considering this standard for the remaining hospitals that are in the process to get accredited through NABH".

The Joint Commission and Joint Commission International were designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for patient safety solutions, to initiate and coordinate the work of developing and disseminating solutions for patient safety.

In April 2007, the International Steering Committee has approved nine solutions for dissemination. These are defined as, "Any system design or intervention that has demonstrated the ability to prevent or mitigate patient harm stemming from the processes of health care. WHO has identified 9 patient safety solutions which are as follows, look-alike, sound-alike medication names, patient identification, communication during patient hand-overs, performance of correct procedure at correct body site, control of concentrated electrolyte solutions, assuring medication accuracy at transitions in care, avoiding catheter and tubing mis-connections, single use of injection devices and improved hand hygiene to prevent health care-associated infection.