The chapters in this book explore the patient safety managerial structures that exist in countries where there are developed patient safety infrastructures and cultures. The legal structures of these countries are explored and related to major in-country patient safety issues in order to draw comparisons and conclusions on patient safety.

Introduction: The Development of a Patient Safety Policy Agenda, John Tingle 1. Managing Safety, Quality and Risk , Ash Samanta and Jo Samanta 2. Pre-Trial Clinical Negligence Issues, Charles Foster 3. The Tort of Negligence and Patient Safety, Jose Miola 4. Medical Ethics and Patient Safety, Nils Hoppe 5. Psychological Aspects of Patient Safety, Pippa Bark 6. Blame Free Reporting: International Developments, Johan Legemaate 7. Economic Aspects of Hospital Patient Safety, Stephen Heasell 8. Patient Safety in Secondary Care, Ash Samanta and Jo Samanta 9. Patient Safety in Mental Health Care , Eva Sundin, James Houston and Jamie Murphy 10. Regulating Patient Safety in the European Union: Realistic Aspiration or Unattainable Goal?, Jean V. McHale 11. Patient Safety and Clinical Risk Management in Germany, Marc Stauch 12. Patient Safety and Clinical Risk in Canada, Joan M Gilmour 13. Patient Safety and Clinical Risk in the USA, Ronni P. Solomon 14. Patient Safety in American Health Care: Regulatory Models, Barry R. Furrow 15. Responding to Patient Harm: Patient Safety Initiatives in Australia, Merrilyn Walton

John Tingle is Reader in Health Law at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Pippa Bark is Principal Research Fellow at CHIME, University College London, UK.