[The basic concept of patient safety and its evolution].

Patient safety has become a hot topic and a big challenge for healthcare services globally during the past ten years. Patient safety is not a new concept but has its explicit cultural root. There were some related elaborations early in the collected works of Hippocrates. Reviewing the origin and developmental process of the concept of patient safety can benefit acquiring a deeper recognition of the basic concept of patient safety. "Medical risk is everywhere" has become the consensus of healthcare professions globally. Patient safety is a perpetual task of the medical area as well as the most basic starting point and final destination in healthcare service.