November 17 @ 12pm CST – Free webinar
Confused about Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs)? You’re not alone!
Join the experts at the Center for Patient Safety as they describe the basics of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) and provide an introduction to the terminology and concepts of PSO participation. Applications to EMS, LTC, medical offices, and hospitals will be presented. Q&A available during webinar. Register
Now that Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) have been in existence for more than five years, the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) is better understood, and knowledge about the Act has increased. Still, there are a number of questions we commonly receive at the Center for Patient Safety. Here are the top 10 questions, answered by the Center’s Patient Safety Specialist, Eunice Halverson at [email protected]:
Why should a health care provider join a PSO?
PSOs are independent, external experts who can collect, analyze and aggregate patient safety work product to develop insights into the underlying causes of patient safety events. Communications with PSOs are protected to allay fears of increased liability or fear of sanctions. With this federal protection, healthcare providers can share information with other participants, via the PSO, and learn from each other to ultimately improve patient care. More information is available from the AHRQ on working with a PSO.
The latest newsletter from the Center for Patient Safety has been released. The Fall 2014 EMS PSONews contains information on the recently released PSO Safety Alert and EMS Safety Watch, articles on the legal environment to help maximize federal protections from the PSO, patient safety culture topics, and much more! Download the newsletter or view on Issuu.
The Kentucky Supreme Court has issued its anxiously awaited opinion in Tibbs, et al. v. Bunnell (2012-SC-000603-MR). The opinion is available online here. Earlier in the case, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that only work reflecting “self-examining analysis,†could be protected PSWP, eliminating data or reports used as part of that analysis from protection. The hospital appealed, with support from the national PSO community. The Kentucky Supreme Court rejected that restriction based on the language of the law and final rule. It went on to examine the definition of PSWP as applied to the information sought by the plaintiff, which included incident reports. (more…)
A Florida trial court order regarding the discovery of hospital incident reports is circulating in PSO circles. (Charles v. Southern Baptist Hosp. et al., Duyal County, Case No. 15-2012-CA-002677.) The order expresses a very restrictive view of PSWP (more below) and the hospital has expressed an intention to appeal the order. As a trial court order in Florida, it has no value as precedent in any other jurisdiction, even within Florida. However, the order will be part of the ongoing discussion about PSO protections, so CPS wants its stakeholders to understand it. The key facts:
Click image to download or click HERE to view on ISSUU
EMS PSONews… a compilation of PSO topics specific to EMS
The latest EMS PSONews-Spring Edition includes articles and PSO information specific to EMS:
Click image to download or click HERE to view on ISSUU
The latest PSONews-Spring Edition includes:
The District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has issued an incredibly helpful opinion for PSO’s and their participants. (Tinal v. Norton Healthcare, No. 3:11-CV-596-S, May 8, 2014) A copy of the opinion is available and a summary of the opinion by one of the law firms involved is also available. The court reviewed the law and its history comprehensively. Lawyers defending PSO participants should read it for guidance on how to approach PSWP protections.
The court noted that the statute uses “plain and unequivocal terms†to set out the privilege, and stated, “No ambiguity can be read into….the privilege statute.†The plaintiff’s claim was for employment discrimination under the federal civil rights statutes, and she claimed that the PSQIA should only apply in medical malpractice cases. The court disagreed, finding that “[w]e have no authority to go behind the plain meaning of the statute.â€
A recent Pennsylvania case shows how courts narrowly interpret the PSQIA, ignoring the D & A pathway and the clear language of the Final Rule. (Ungurian v. Beyzman, et al., 2020 PA Super 105). The cour
The Center for Patient Safety wants to share this important harm-prevention advice from The Joint Commission and its Sentinel Event Alert: Managing the Risks of Direct Oral Anticoagulants. The Joint Commis
Issue: A number of events reported co CPS’ Patient Safety Organization (PSO) demonstrate poor handoff communication about the patients’ infectious disease status Examples include: Patient with
The Center for Patient Safety believes that collaboration and sharing are the best ways to drive improvement. We strive to provide the right solutions and resources to improve healthcare safety and quality.