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Nurses play a critical role in patient safety through their constant presence at the patient's bedside. However, staffing issues and suboptimal working conditions can impede a nurse’s ability to detect and prevent adverse events.

Discharge planning is an essential part of transitions of care, during which patients are often at a higher risk for adverse events and harm. It is important for all healthcare providers to identify risk factors prior to transitioning patients and put plans in place as part of the discharge plan to mitigate harm. Effective discharge planning between the discharging and accepting healthcare teams can help reduce adverse events.

This Primer provides an overview of the history and current status of the patient safety field and key definitions and concepts. It links to other Patient Safety Primers that discuss the concepts in more detail.