Patient Safety Organizations are Important to Enhance Quality Healthcare
Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) improve quality and safety by reducing the incidence of events that adversely affect patients.
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act) authorized the creation of PSOs to improve quality and safety by reducing the incidence of events that adversely affect patients. To implement the Patient Safety Act, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Final Rule (Patient Safety Rule). AHRQ has received many questions regarding the implementation of the Patient Safety Rule and about PSOs, and offers a website of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers to guide organizations in teh development and management of these organizations.