Third Meeting of The Drafting Group for the International Patient Safety Event Taxonomy
The drafting group responsible for the development of an International Patient Safety Event Classification (IPSEC) met on the 13 -14 December 2006 at WHO headquarters in Geneva, to discuss the continued development of the IPSEC through field testing in a variety of health care settings. It is envisioned the field testing will commence in 2007 and that the IPSEC will be available at the end of 2008.
In October 2005, the World Alliance for Patient Safety convened a panel consisting of experts in the fields of patient safety, information management and classification ("the drafting group") to define the mission and purpose and to devise a strategic plan to develop an IPSEC. In May 2006, the drafting group endorsed a proposed conceptual framework and structure for the IPSEC and approved the implementation of a two-round consultation process ("the Delphi survey") to seek wide international input about the general acceptability and applicability of the IPSEC across diverse environments and cultures.
The Delphi survey was conducted between August and November 2006. Results aggregated among over 250 international representatives from a variety of fields indicated a general consensus that the IPSEC is a meaningful and useful tool for translating disparate information into a format conducive to learning and improving patient safety.