Objective: The conceptual framework for the international classification for patient safety (ICPS) was released in January 2009. Since then, a Korean version of ICPS was developed. This paper describes the translation process and evaluates the validity of the Korean version.

Methods: Two research groups were involved in the development of the Korean version of ICPS. The draft of the Korean version was developed through intensive consultations with experts and extensive consensus building efforts. Subsequently, a modified Delphi method was used to develop the final version. Twenty-one experts, including professors in medicine and nursing, quality experts, and clinical experts, had been engaged in the process. A back translation was also done to evaluate the validity of the final Korean version. The level of agreement between the original version and the back translated version in terms of 48 key concepts was evaluated. The levels were classified as complete, partial, and no agreement.

Results: Thirty concepts (62.5%) agreed completely, 11 concepts (22.9%) agreed partially, and seven concepts (14.6%) had no agreement. Overall, the agreement between the original and the back translation was 85.4%.

Conclusion: Because no standard classification currently exists for patient safety in Korea, this Korean version of ICPS can be used as a standard. However, the relevance and utility of this classification must be further evaluated through clinical fieldtests.