According to a recommendation by the European Commission, Europe will have electronic health records (EHR) that cross international borders by 2015, reports the International Herald Tribune. The decision is part of a decision to allow European Union citizens to receive most healthcare treatment anywhere within the union without prior authorization.

The European Commission put forth guidelines that would make it easier for hospitals across borders to access emergency data and patient summaries to better ensure patient safety. The Commission says each nation is responsible for researching and implementing a new system that would allow EHRs to be more accessible, according to the Tribune.

In an effort to create higher surgical standards and safer surgeries worldwide,the World Health Organization (WHO) has released a surgical checklist that can be applied to all health settings.

The checklist, developed under the leadership of the Harvard School of Public Health, identifies three phases of surgery: Before anesthesia, before incision, and before the patient leaves the operating room. The list identifies specific tasks for each phase that should be carried out to ensure better patient safety.

The National Patient Safety Agency has warned doctors and pharmacists to take caution when prescribing or administering medication, according to the Guardian.

The agency released a rapid response report to the National Health Service (NHS) entitled Reducing Dosing Errors with Opiod Medicines after the group found evidence that 17,000 patients using painkillers were put at risk.

Leading members of the German National Chamber of Doctors are urging German hospitals to implement computerized physician order entry (CPOE) to improve patient safety, eHealthEurope reports.

Leaders strongly advocated CPOE systems with automatic warnings and alerts to possible medication errors and allergic reactions at an annual gathering of health policy leaders in Berlin, according to eHealthEurope. The call for a computerized system comes after a government-supported report showed that two of every three patients over age 65 reporting to the Germany's emergency departments take five different pills or more.

New disclosures of California hospitals reveal a significant amount of patient injuries in the state's hospitals, reports the Los Angeles Times.

After new state law requires hospitals to inform health regulators of serious hospital-acquired injuries, serious medical errors, such as wrong site surgery, are being revealed.

Reports show 145 California patients were left with foreign objects in their bodies, while 34 died under anesthesia, according to the Times.