An analysis of patient safety in healthcare reveals a multitude of challenges facing both providers and patients. A new commitment to providing safe, quality healthcare to patients is a critical part of reforming the U.S. healthcare system. But to be effective, it is necessary to establish a new healthcare discipline (i.e. Patient Safety), which emphasizes the reporting, analysis and prevention of medical errors that lead to adverse health events. As I explored this growing healthcare problem, I found that measuring and improving patient safety is complicated by many factors. We will look at some of them in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the issues that are preventing the healthcare industry from solving this problem. First, it is extremely difficult to collect sufficient data to assess whether systematic reporting of medical errors and patient safety events is being achieved. Second, there is widespread fear among healthcare professionals that their participation in any official review of medical errors or patient care processes could be used against them in a court of law or damage their professional reputation. Third, there is enormous difficulty in aggregating and sharing critical and confidential data across healthcare facilities and interstate lines. But these obstacles didn't just emerge a year or two ago. Adverse incidents caused by suppliers have become increasingly problematic for more than a decade. So, to understand how we got to this point, let's take a look back. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Committee on Healthcare Quality in America conducted a major review of the U.S. healthcare system. They concluded that “it is not acceptable for patients… halfway through… and national leaders to recognize the importance of this critical issue that will improve the safety and peace of mind of all patients during what many consider the most vulnerable in their lives. References Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2009, November). Chicago: American HospitalAssociation.Committee on Quality Health Care in America (1999: To Err is Human: Building A SaferHealth System). , 2009 from http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/NationalPatientSafetyGoals.Journal of Empirical Legal StudiesVolume 4, number 4, 835–860, December 2007.