The long road to patient safety: A status report on Missouri acute-care hospitals.

We surveyed Missouri's acute-care hospitals twice to assess the "state of the art" in patient safety systems. We found improvements in all areas studied, but progress is modest and falls short of national recommendations. We urge all Missourians to become more knowledgeable and assertive consumers of hospital care, and we ask them to support Missouri hospitals in their patient safety efforts, including provision of financial resources to put necessary systems in place.