AHRQ Announces Ten Patient Safety Organizations

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced the first 10 Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). AHRQ is the main agency within HHS responsible for improving healthcare safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness.

The 10 newly listed PSOs will collect quality data voluntarily reported by providers and healthcare organizations. Using this confidential data, they will issue recommendations on how to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.

Each PSO was approved by HHS and given certification that went into effect on November 5. AHRQ will announce new PSOs weekly as HHS certifies more organizations.

The 10 PSOs announced by AHRQ are:

• California Hospital Patient Safety Organization (CHPSO) in Sacramento, CA;
• Missouri Center for Patient Safety in Jefferson City, MO;
• ECRI Institute PSO in Plymouth Meeting, PA;
• Florida Patient Safety Corp. in Tallahassee, FL;
• Health Watch Inc. in Easton, MD;
• Human Performance Technology Group in Collierville, TN;
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, PA;
• Peminic Inc. in Fort Washington, PA;
• Sprixx in Santa Barbara, CA; and
• University Healthsystem Consortium in Oak Brook, IL.

Source: BNA