Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) collect and analyze data voluntarily reported by healthcare providers to help improve patient safety and healthcare quality. PSOs provide feedback to healthcare providers aimed at promoting learning and preventing future patient safety events. Working with a PSO makes it possible for information from healthcare providers to receive certain legal protections and to be contributed to the Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD). Under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (the Patient Safety Act), AHRQ certifies and lists PSOs.

- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

There are eight patient safety activities that are carried out by, or on behalf of a PSO, or a healthcare provider:

1. Efforts to improve patient safety and the quality of healthcare delivery
2. The collection and analysis of patient safety work product (PSWP)
3. The development and dissemination of information regarding patient safety, such as recommendations, protocols, or information regarding best practices
4. The utilization of PSWP for the purposes of encouraging a culture of safety as well as providing feedback and assistance to effectively minimize patient risk
5. The maintenance of procedures to preserve confidentiality with respect to PSWP
6. The provision of appropriate security measures with respect to PSWP
7. The utilization of qualified staff
8. Activities related to the operation of a patient safety evaluation system and to the provision of feedback to participants in a patient safety evaluation system

The term "safety" refers to reducing risk from harm and injury, while the term "quality" suggests striving for excellence and value. By addressing common, preventable adverse events, a healthcare setting can become safer, thereby enhancing the quality of care delivered. PSOs create a secure environment where clinicians and healthcare organizations can collect, aggregate, and analyze data, thus identifying and reducing the risks and hazards associated with patient care and improving quality.

- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

PSWP is the information protected by the privilege and confidentiality protections of the Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety Rule. PSWP may identify the providers involved in a patient safety event and/or a provider employee that reported the information about the patient safety event. PSWP may also include patient information that is protected health information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule (see 45 CFR 160.103).

- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

PSOs serve as independent, external experts who can assist providers in analyzing data that a provider voluntarily chooses to report to the PSO. Providers that work with a PSO can benefit from the ability of PSOs to aggregate data from all of the providers reporting to the PSO, enabling many PSOs to develop the large numbers of patient safety events essential for identifying the underlying causes of infrequent, but often tragic, adverse events.

The Patient Safety Act and Rule provide protections that are designed to allay fears of providers of increased risk of liability if they voluntarily participate in the collection and analysis of patient safety events. The uniform Federal protections that apply to a provider's relationship with a PSO are expected to remove significant barriers that can deter the participation of healthcare providers in patient safety and quality improvement initiatives, such as fear of legal liability or professional sanctions.

AHRQ has published a short brochure, "Choosing a Patient Safety Organization," to help providers select a PSO appropriate to their needs.

- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Please visit AHRQ's Patient Safety Organization (PSO) website.