Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks

Laws and declarations on patients’ rights do not automatically make health care safer, but can help to empower patients. Empowered patients can better manage their own health and health care and participate in efforts to improve safety.

This report presents an overview of the legal influences on patient safety and explores the relationship between patients’ rights, patient participation and patient safety. It provides a synthesis of studies of patient involvement, with detailed examples from Bulgaria, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal. It highlights the need to strengthen a continuum of information between various levels of care, including patient experiences, health literacy and engagement. It offers recommendations on the macro, meso and micro levels of health service delivery. By contributing to the wider process of evidence collation, it will help identify efficient ways to build realistic and informed expectations of health care, while encouraging patients to be vigilant and knowledgeable, thus ensuring maximum safety standards.