Washington Advocates for Patient Safety

Patient-Centered Care

Patient-centered care defines active patient engagement at every level of care and is a critical element in medical safety. The IOM (Institute of Medicine) defines patient-centered care as: Health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families (when appropriate) to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care.
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Reduce Medical Error and Harm

As many as 440,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors, making it the third leading cause of death in the US.
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Transparency and Accountability

How is our health system transparent and accountable? You will be surprised to find out the facts.
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Patient-Centered Care
Patient-centered care defines active patient engagement at every level of care and is a critical element in medical safety.
Reduce Medical Error and Harm
As many as 440,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors, making it the third leading cause of death in the US.
Transparency and Accountability
How is our health system transparent and accountable? You will be surprised to find out the facts.

Featured Blog

Patient endured 9 years of chemotherapy for cancer he never had

Anthony Olson was told that he’d die without treatment and to ignore a negative biopsy. He’s one of many patients who may have received harmful... Read More

Patient Safety Award given to Yanling Yu & Rex Johnson, WAPS Board Members!

Foundation for Health Care Quality “Patient Safety” Award for 2025 The Washington Patient Safety Coalition under the Foundation for... Read More

Study shows that 38% of patients admitted to hospitals for surgery suffered an adverse event

This recent study found that adverse events were identified in more than one third of patients admitted to hospital for surgery, with nearly half... Read More

A Coproduced Family Reporting Intervention to Improve Safety Surveillance and Reduce Disparities

Family safety-reporting was unchanged overall after implementing a mobile reporting tool, though reporting increased among families with lower educational... Read More

Our Mission

We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization dedicated to improve patient safety by promoting transparency, accountability, quality, safety, and responsibility in patient care.

As a part of the Patient Action Safety Network (PSAN), we advocate for and educate the public and legislators on patient-centered care, quality healthcare and medication safety, prevention of hospital-associated infections, medical device safety, patient’s rights to be informed of all treatment risks and options, better communications between patients and medical professionals, healthcare transparency and accountability, and patient empowerment.

We strongly believe that our current medical system needs improvement to reduce the number of preventable medical errors and harm that kill up to 440,000 Americans every year.

Together we can change this. To help, join us or be a supporter.

Patient-Centered Care

Reduce Medical Error and Harm