Regulation for Patient Safety Organizations proposed by HHS
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
February 20, 2008
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed regulation that would establish Patient Safety Organizations (PSO), or private organizations that collect and analyze patient safety events. PSOs are formally recognized by the HHS and would allow healthcare providers to report patient safety events without fear of legal liability as well as aid in the sharing of collected patient safety data."Patient Safety Organizations will help make health care safer for all Americans," said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in a press release. "By making it easier for patient safety events to be reported and the lessons learned from them to be shared more broadly, patients will ultimately receive safer health care."
The creation of PSOs does not exempt any healthcare providers from meeting federal or state requirements.
To read the entire press release, click here.
