The ACCE Healthcare Technology Foundation PSO

The Foundation has registered as a Patient Safety organization in compliance with the applicable final rule which was published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2008 with an effective date of January 19, 2009. (See http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-27475.htm). For further information on PSOs see below and http://www.pso.ahrq.gov/index.html.

As a registered PSO we are listed at http://www.pso.ahrq.gov/listing/psolist.htm.

We look forward to serving the hospital community in this new activity by applying our expertise to the patient safety improvement processes as defined by the PSO regulations.

For further information on the ACCE Healthcare Technology Foundation PSO please contact the secretary:

William Hyman
Voice: 979-845-5593
Fax: 979-216-1588
or pso@accefoundation.org

Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) are new entities that will be recognized through a proposed rule making by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). PSOs will contract with hospitals to receive and analyze a variety of patient safety events* with the ultimate purpose of making recommendations to the client hospital and hospitals at large with respect to safety improvements. PSOs will also integrate their individual patient safety event data to provide the benefit of a wider view of important events. A key feature of the PSO concept is protection of patient safety work product from disclosure. It is also important to note that provider participation in the PSO process is voluntary—at least for now.

The proposed rule establishing PSOs can be found at:

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ContentViewer?objectId=09000064803acce8&disposition=attachment&contentType=html

The AHRQ has established a web site for PSOs, with an option to subscribe to PSO e-mail updates:

http://www.pso.ahrq.gov/rulemaking/nprm.htm

The ACCE Healthcare Technology Foundation will monitor the development of the PSO rules and the start of the PSO process. We will also be identifying the proper role of the Foundation which may include being a technical resource to PSOs, advising hospitals on their participation, or even becoming a PSO ourselves!

* patient safety events: An incident that occurred during the delivery of a health care service and that harmed, or could have resulted in harm to, a patient. A patient safety event may include an error of omission or commission, mistake, or malfunction in a patient care process; it may also involve an input to such process (such as a drug or device) or the environment in which such process occurs.

PSO Update - September 23, 2008

The agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has posted draft "Common Formats" for later use in patient safety reporting to Patient Safety Organizations for hospital inpatients.

The term Common Formats is used to describe the technical requirements and reporting specifications that allow health care providers to collect and submit standardized information regarding patient safety events. The scope of Common Formats apply to all patient safety concerns including:

• Incidents—patient safety events that reached the patient, whether or not there was harm;
• Near misses or close calls—patient safety events that did not reach the patient; and
• Unsafe conditions

AHRQ's Common Formats include:

• Descriptions of patient safety events and unsafe conditions to be reported,
• Delineation of data elements to be collected for different types of events,
• Examples of patient safety population reports,
• A metadata registry with data element attributes and technical specifications,
• Paper forms to allow immediate implementation, and
• A users guide

The initial release of the Common Formats, Version 0.1 Beta, is currently limited to patient safety reporting for hospital inpatients. Future versions of the Common Formats will be developed for other settings such as nursing homes, ambulatory surgery centers, and physician and practitioner offices.