Patient safety and quality at Philips

We are dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people through meaningful innovation

Enabling the delivery of patient-centric, safe, and high-quality care – the very essence of patient safety and quality – is foundational to Philips' purpose as we work to improve the health and well-being of people through meaningful innovation. Patient safety and quality is at the heart of everything we do, across all of Philips’ businesses.

In 2023, we strengthened responsibility and accountability for patient safety and quality by elevating oversight of that work to Philips’ Executive Committee – the top leaders of our company. We also implemented a new organizational structure and new way of working across the company, with stronger processes and more effective early warning systems in each of our business units. And, all Philips employees have dedicated patient safety and quality objectives.

Chief Patient Safety and Quality Officer: In 2023, Philips appointed Steve C de Baca to the new role of Chief Patient Safety and Quality Officer. He brings more than 30 years of quality and regulatory affairs experience in the medical technology industry. He is a member of the Philips Executive Committee and reports directly to the Philips CEO Roy Jakobs.

New operating model: As part of Philips’ plan to create value with sustainable impact, we introduced a new operating model with a new organizational structure that enables us to simplify how we work and improve accountability and ownership. This also includes having dedicated Quality and Regulatory representatives from the Patient Safety and Quality organization, as well as representatives from the Medical Office, on the leadership team of each business.

Stronger processes and capabilities: We are strengthening our technical and engineering capabilities for new product development in areas such as quality systems engineering, reliability, and software design. We are investing in systems, capabilities, and training to facilitate the timely identification and resolution of potential patient safety or quality issues.

Patient safety and quality is everybody's responsibility: All Philips businesses are accountable for patient safety and quality. Additionally, every Philips employee has a patient safety and quality goal as part of their annual people performance management.

Lessons learned: We are taking the learnings from across the company, including the Philips Respironics recall, to improve our ability to fully assess patient safety and provide quality across Philips when delivering safe and effective products and services to patients, customers, and consumers.

You can hear more about our focus on patient safety and quality from Steve C de Baca in this video.

FAQs

Why is patient safety and quality at the heart of everything Philips does?

At Philips, our purpose is to improve people's health and well-being through meaningful innovation. We understand how important our products, solutions and services are to the healthcare providers and patients who use them each and every day. Enabling the delivery of patient-centric, safe, and high-quality care is at the very heart of everything we do.

Who is responsible for patient safety and quality at Philips?

Patient safety and quality is everybody's responsibility at Philips, overseen by our Chief Patient Safety and Quality Officer, Steve C de Baca. He leads the Patient Safety and Quality organization with the aim of fostering a quality mindset and culture across the whole of Philips. This team is instrumental in ensuring we have the capabilities, processes, and tools required for operating in a highly regulated health technology industry. This includes having dedicated Quality and Regulatory representatives from the Patient Safety and Quality organization, as well as representatives from the Medical Office, in the leadership team of each business unit.

What can you tell me about Philips’ Patient Safety and Quality organization?

Philips’ Patient Safety and Quality organization brings together the Quality and Regulatory Affairs functions as one unified team in close coordination with the Medical Office and other relevant functions. Positioned to support and enable the entire Philips organization and to foster the quality culture at Philips, the Patient Safety and Quality team is instrumental in ensuring we have the capabilities, processes, and tools required for operating in a highly regulated healthcare technology industry.

Can healthcare providers and patients be confident in Philips products?

Yes, patient safety and quality is Philips’ number one priority. It guides everything we do to enable the delivery of patient-centric, safe, and high-quality care. This is true for new products under development as well as for products already in the market. We remain rigorously focused on identifying and addressing any potential quality issues, resolving them as fast as possible and ensuring proper coordination with relevant global competent authorities and regulators.

What changes have you made to patient safety and quality?

In 2023, we increased accountability for patient safety and quality, by elevating oversight to the Executive Committee and by creating a new organizational structure, with stronger processes and more effective early warning systems in place. All Philips employees have also been given dedicated patient safety and quality objectives.

What was the catalyst for these changes?

We understand how important our products, solutions and services are to the healthcare providers and patients who use them every day, and we are mindful of the impact when expected levels of care fall short. We are applying learnings from across the company to improve our ability to assess patient safety and to ensure high quality standards across Philips.