An opportunity for reflection.

• The launch of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about patient safety and to facilitating the implementation of best practices (www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca). • The publication of the results of the Canadian Adverse Events Study (Baker, Norton et al. 2004), which identified an adverse events (AEs) rate of 7.5% (projected to be 185,000 events in the year 2000) among all adult acute care hospital admissions in Canada, with over one-third (70,000 events) estimated to be potentially preventable.