An analysis of the relationship between quality management systems and the culture of patient safety

One of the most imporatant indicators of today?s socio-economic situation is the degree to which a good health service is available to the society in question. And the establishment and development of a patient safety culture within a health services plays an important role in the success of that service in reducing patient risk factors. A strong patient safety culture, that helps prevent mistakes that could threaten lives, when established as part of the existant culture, is beneficial.In recent years the promotion of productive and high-quailty health services through the application of total quality management methods has gained speed. This study investigates the effects of the adoption of quality management sytems in hospitals on the culture of patient safety. The first part of the study focuses on the quality of health and the quality systems applied in hospitals and the second part concentrates on both existant culture and patient safety cultures. In the final part, the results and data analysis from hospitals is discussed.