Governor Rendell says Authority benefits Pennsylvania consumers by improving patient safety
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, recipient of the 2006 John M. Eisenberg Award for advancing patient safety and quality, accepted its award Thursday at the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) annual meeting in Washington D.C. The award was presented jointly by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and NQF to acknowledge the Authority’s impact on patient safety on a regional or national level.
“The Patient Safety Authority’s work to improve the quality of health care for Pennsylvania citizens is exactly the type of initiative that we need, and it benefits us in many ways,” said Governor Edward G. Rendell. “Improved quality saves lives, means people get better faster and can avoid repeat trips to the hospital. It also saves the entire system money. Those are the results that were envisioned when the Patient Safety Authority was created. The staff and board should be very proud of receiving what is generally recognized as the nation’s most prestigious quality award.”
The Eisenberg Award recognizes the Authority’s efforts to make the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) into a nationally recognized resource for education and learning about patient safety. The Authority publishes the quarterly Patient Safety Advisory to disseminate lessons learned and best practices based on actual reports submitted through PA-PSRS.
This is the fifth year for the Eisenberg awards program, which recognizes major achievements of individuals and organizations in improving patient safety and quality. Previous award winners have included Dr. Lucian Leape, pediatric surgeon and Harvard professor considered the “father” of patient safety; the U.S. Veterans Health Administration National Center for Patient Safety; and the Leapfrog Group. Past Pennsylvania winners are Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, Abington Memorial Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-McKeesport.
More information about the John M. Eisenberg Awards can be found at http://www.jointcommission.org/NewsRoom/NewsReleases/nr_09_19_06.htm.
In addition, background on the NQF is available at www.qualityforum.org and on the Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
PATIENT SAFETY AUTHORITY BACKGROUND
The Patient Safety Authority is an independent state agency created by Act 13 of 2002, the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (“Mcare”) Act as amended, to help reduce and eliminate medical errors by identifying problems and recommending solutions that promote patient safety. Under the Act, all Pennsylvania-licensed hospitals, birthing centers, ambulatory surgical facilities and certain abortion facilities are required to report what the Act defines as “serious events” and “incidents” to the Authority. More than 455 healthcare facilities are subject to Act 13 reporting requirements.
Facilities submit reports of serious events and incidents through the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), a confidential web-based system that was developed for the Authority under a contract with ECRI, a Pennsylvania-based independent, non-profit health services research agency, in part nership with EDS, a leading international, information technology firm, and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), also a Pennsylvania-based, non-profit health research organization.
More than 385,000 reports have been submitted through PA-PSRS since the program was initiated in June 2004. Ninety-six percent of these reports are Incidents or “near-misses.” Based on those reports, the Authority issues quarterly and supplementary Patient Safety Advisories to advise hospitals and other healthcare facilities about steps they can take to reduce and prevent patient harm.
For more information on the Patient Safety Authority, PA-PSRS or previous Patient Safety Advisories, visit the Authority’s website at www.psa.state.pa.us.