042 - Patient safety and Laboratory Medicine: citizens’ point of view
Autor(s): A. Terzi, F. Moccia, E. Terzi
Issue: RIMeL - IJLaM, Vol. 2, N. 3-S1, 2006 (MAF Servizi srl ed.)
Page(s): 42-48
CittadinanzAttiva is the most active citizens’ organization in Italy and, since 2000, yearly presents to the public opinion a report “Campaign for a Safe Hospital”, focused on several aspects of the patient safety. A first survey on clinical laboratories was conducted in the year 2004, and its conclusions were positive for the relationship of clinical laboratories with the patients and for its commitment to quality and safety, but negative for the critical area of the relationship between Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. The report of 2006 Campaign for a Safe Hospital “Focus on Clinical Laboratories” is the result of a collaborative study by Assobiomedica (the Italian Diagnostic Manufacturers Association), FIMMG (the Italian Federation of General Practitioners), SIMeL (the Italian Society of Laboratory Medicine), and CittadinanzAttiva, with the aims of promoting a more appropriate use of clinical laboratories and identifying the areas of a possible interventions by active citizens. The data obtained from documents produced and shared by the organizations and especially by SIMeL, and from a survey on the websites of 50 healthcare trusts (40 distributed among all the Italian Regions and 10 large Hospitals), together with the data from the 2004 survey on clinical laboratories, were analyzed following the 14 points of the European Charter of Patients’ Rights. According to the report the critical issues are rights to access, to information, to respect of patients’ time, and to safety. Therefore CittandinanzAttiva recommends: 1) to Regional administrations patients participation in determining and improving access to health information; 2) to Scientific Societies a shared definition of the needed information for the patient; 3) to Healthcare Trusts a better accessibility and information; 4) to Laboratory Directors an improved communication to the patients; 5) to General Practitioners an appropriate information for the patients; 6) to CittadinanzAttiva a more incisive action toward equity and a benchmarking