PATIENT SAFETY AND THE RIGHT TO SAFE HEALTH CARE IN LATIN AMERICA

Although it is theoretically and legally established that the right to safe health care implies that countries have the duty to implement policies, strategies and programs aimed at reducing the occurrence of avoidable harm and to adopt legislation that guarantees this right, in Latin America, public policies on patient safety and the right to health care related insurance are still being consolidated, as will be demonstrated in this article. In fact, this study aims to identify problems associated with the recognition of the right to safe health care in Latin America, We have concluded that there is no broad recognition of the right to safe health care in Latin America, as an expression of the right to health, it appears that quality has been incorporated into health systems through health policies and programs by most countries. On the other hand, it appears that patient safety, as a unique component of the quality of health care, is not yet a subject that is regularly introduced in health systems.