Promoting patient safety in Bhutan: Challenges and priority strategies for accelerating progress

Patient safety is a fundamental principle of quality health care. In Bhutan, which is a resource poor nation, improving patient safety in the health care context is a challenge. Bhutan requires sound patient safety policies and strategies to mitigate safety issues in the health care system. Drawing upon the available literature on patient safety in Bhutan and the author's own experience, this paper attempts to explore the challenges that the Bhutanese health care system is facing in terms of promoting patient safety. Based upon the challenges identified, this paper offers a roadmap to move forward—ie, suggestions on how Bhutan could promote patient safety.