Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the development of a patient safety policy agenda / John Tingle -- Managing safety, quality and risk / Jo Samanta and Ash Samanta -- Pre-trial clinical negligence issues / Charles Foster -- The tort of negligence and patient safety / Jose Miola -- Medical ethics and patient safety / Nils Hoppe -- Psychological aspects of patient safety / Pippa Bark -- Blame free reporting : international developments / Johan Legemaate -- Economic aspects of hospital patient safety / Stephen Heasell -- Patient safety in secondary care / Ash Samanta and Jo Samanta -- Patient safety in mental health care / Eva Sundin, James Houston and Jamie Murphy -- Regulating patient safety in the European Union : realistic aspiration or unattainable goal? / Jean V. McHale -- Patient safety and clinical risk management in Germany / Marc Stauch -- Patient safety and the law in Canada / Joan M Gilmour -- New developments in the US : the federal patient safety act / Ronni P. Solomon -- Patient safety in American health care : regulatory models / Barry R. Furrow -- Responding to patient harm : patient safety initiatives in Australia / Merrilyn Walton.