Quality management, clinical risk, and accreditation: the role of scientific societies and the specialist nurse

Quality and patient safety currently represent the foundation of the effectiveness of healthcare systems and constitute an indispensable strategic pillar for all healthcare organizations. They are key indicators of the ability to respond to population health needs in an appropriate, safe, and sustainable manner. Within this context, clinical governance emerges as the conceptual framework that integrates clinical accountability, performance evaluation, risk management, continuing professional development, and active engagement of healthcare professionals. It is not merely an organizational model, but rather a cultural approach that requires methodological rigor, advanced competencies, and a systemic vision capable of overcoming the fragmentation of care processes.

Within the clinical governance framework, clinical risk management plays a central role. It enables structured analysis of care processes, identification of critical issues, assessment of adverse events and near misses, and the implementation of measurable and evidence-based improvement actions. The Italian regulatory framework has progressively consolidated this approach: Law No. 24/2017 recognized patient safety as an integral component of the right to health and as a shared responsibility between professionals and healthcare organizations, while Legislative Decree No. 502/1992 and Ministerial Decree No. 70/2015 established quality-, transparency-, and appropriateness-oriented standards and accreditation requirements. [...]