Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has launched the Qatar Patient Safety Classification as part of its strategic initiatives to strengthen patient safety and enhance the quality of healthcare services in the State of Qatar.
The Classification serves as an integrated national framework for classifying and analysing patient safety information and excellence in clinical practice across all healthcare facilities in Qatar. It also provides shared concepts that support learning from patient safety incidents as well as from successes and exemplary practice.
The Classification forms the scientific basis for the National Learning System for Patient Safety Events and Practice Excellence (NLS-PSEP). It contributes to standardising health data, strengthening national-level analysis, and supporting continuous improvement in healthcare quality.
The Classification is aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Health Strategy 2024–2030. It is applied to all governmental, semi-governmental, and private healthcare facilities, as well as to healthcare professionals, quality and patient safety teams, risk management teams, health leaders, regulatory authorities, and healthcare decision-makers.
Dr Eman Radwan, Acting Director of the Healthcare Quality Department at MoPH, stated that the launch of the Qatar Patient Safety Classification represents an important and pivotal step towards improving healthcare quality and strengthening a culture of safety at the health system level. She noted that a national team participated in developing the Classification, bringing together experts and specialists in healthcare quality and patient safety from across the public and private health sectors, reflecting a partnership-based and integrated approach to developing this national framework.
The Classification aims to standardise patient safety concepts and taxonomies at the health system level; support national learning and reduce recurrence of incidents; improve risk management; enable comparative analysis of health data and evidence-informed decision-making; and enhance transparency and public confidence in health services. Implementation of the Classification also supports national efforts to improve patient safety levels, strengthen a culture of learning and exchange of experience among healthcare providers, and reduce potential risks and harm at both the facility and national levels.
The Classification is among the first national classifications in the region to combine learning from experience and excellence within a single framework. It supports digital transformation and the development of an intelligent national patient safety database and reflects a national participatory approach that will strengthen healthcare quality and patient safety over the long term. The framework includes more than 25 main categories of patient safety incidents, including medication incidents, falls, infection prevention and control, surgical incidents, medical procedures, and others.
The Classification is based on four interrelated classification levels, integrated with digital reporting systems. These levels include Domains, covering both patient safety incidents and excellence in practice Severity and impact, through assessing the extent of the event’s effect on the patient, staff, and the organization and Contributory factors and causes, identifying factors that contribute to patient safety incidents to prevent their recurrence in the future and Corrective and preventive actions, documenting these actions according to their effectiveness and The Classification is also designed to be interoperable through application programming interfaces (APIs).
The Qatar Patient Safety Classification underwent several stages before its launch. These included a development phase, during which international best practices and classifications were reviewed and adapted nationally, with consideration given to regional and local classifications; a review and refinement phase, which involved forming a multidisciplinary national team and organising a series of specialised workshops; and an implementation phase, during which the Classification was embedded within the National Learning System, accompanied by training and technical support, and a number of healthcare institutions began applying it. Finally, the sustainability phase has been initiated through the development and implementation of a governance mechanism that is reviewed and updated regularly to keep pace with national and regional developments.
