Patient safety is an integral component of high quality healthcare services. In order to ensure, promote and support patient safety, regular monitoring and analysis of healthcare practices are required. Systems for reporting and analysing patient safety incidents are undoubtedly an essential tool in achieving this goal.

This report reviews the present status and features of national patient safety incident reporting systems in Europe. Lessons learned from the European, as well as international experiences in patient safety reporting are examined and distilled to answer key questions of national level planning for patient safety.

The report is a valuable aid for policy and decision makers concerned with patient safety development, as well as useful reference material for healthcare service managers, clinicians and researchers interested in patient safety, risk management, public health and health services research.