Patient safety conference in Mumbai

 Inaugural session of the Patient Safety conference was addressed by Dr Deepak Sawant, Minister of Public Health & Family Welfare & Dr Pradip Vyas, Health Secretary, Government of Maharashtra

 Eminent national and international speakers from IMA, AIIMS, IMA, KPMG, JCI (US), NABH and leading Indian providers came together share their insights on defining strategies for patient safety improvement at IPSC

Speakers from Microsoft, TCS, BMJ and Government of Taiwan shared insights on managing healthcare through IT.

  2000 delegates, 300 experts from over 26 countries participate at the twin conferences.

Over 2000 delegates from over 26 countries gathered at the 7th International Patient Safety Conference (IPSC) and the 8th edition of Revolutionizing Healthcare through IT (RHIT). Dr. Deepak Sawant, Minister of Public Health & Family Welfare, Government of Maharashtra and Dr Pradip Vyas, Health Secretary, Government of Maharashtra addressed the 7th International Patient Safety Conference delegates.

Dr Deepak Sawant, Minister of Public Health & Family Welfare said, “I am glad, that an international conference is being organized on the subject of patient safety – which is very close to my heart. Today we have almost 6 crore people being treated in India and ‘affordability with safety’ is a concern for all. In this regard I would like to request accreditation bodies to minimise the clerical work involved and focus on the practical on-ground realities so that patient safety is accorded focus rather than paper work.” Commenting on the issues that patients and hospitals face today, he said, “It is important that hospitals train staff to manage not just the patient but also the family and emphasise communication and transparency so that incidents of vandalism and patient distress are avoided.”

Addressing the plenary session of the patient safety conference Dr. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Safeguarding patient interest and safety requires us to adopt a holistic, systematic approach that extends across professional, cultural, technological and procedural boundaries. In order to this we have to increase engagement with patients, care-givers, the public, clinical partners, healthcare organisations, and the government. Unfortunately while longstanding issues remain unresolved, new threats to patient safety emerge each day. Patient safety and the first principle, do no harm, need to be continually at the core of all we do. In order to do so, healthcare systems need to become accessible, affordable and accountable.”

Other eminent speakers speaking at the IPSC event were, Sir David Dalton, CEO, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Ms Paula Wilson, CEO, Joint Commission International, USA; Dr Ravi Wankhedkar, National President, IMA & Dr Jayesh Lele, IMA, Mumbai Chapter.

 The thematic topics of this year’s IPSC included

 Role of physicians in patient safety and quality improvement

 Use of data analytics to identify opportunities for improving patient safety