BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cogent Healthcare today announced that the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) within the Department of Health and Human Services has certified the hospitalist company’s Patient Safety Organization (PSO). Authorized by the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act), Cogent is the first hospitalist company in the U.S. to receive the designation.
“Cogent continues to lead hospital medicine with our product and safety initiatives,” said Russell L. Holman, MD, Cogent Healthcare’s Chief Clinical Officer. “We are proud to be the first in our specialty to receive this designation and look forward to extending its benefit to our hospital partners nationally.”
The Patient Safety Act authorized the creation of PSOs to reduce the incidence of events that adversely affect patients. PSOs share a common goal of improving the quality and safety of U.S. healthcare delivery by encouraging clinicians and healthcare organizations to voluntarily report and share data on patient safety events.
“At Cogent, a fundamental element of our mission is to deploy a system of care that relentlessly improves quality, safety, and efficiency of our care,” said Anna-Gene O’Neal, R.N., Senior Vice President of Quality & Performance Improvement of Cogent Healthcare. “Certification of our own patient safety organization affords Cogent the opportunity to facilitate greater information sharing and best practice development with our hospital partners. Our ultimate objective is to assure quality care and safety for patients while continuously improving physician and hospital performance.”
Being recognized as a PSO further validates Cogent’s commitment to relentlessly improve the quality of care provided to patients. Cogent’s approach is built collaboratively with each hospital around Cogent’s System of Care™. This system supports hospitalists in the delivery of inpatient care, and includes significant infrastructure, a coordinated care team, data driven processes, rigorous ongoing training and experienced leadership.
To be recognized as a PSO, applicants must certify to the AHRQ that it has policies and procedures in place to perform the eight patient safety activities specified in the Patient Safety Rule. These activities include:
- Efforts to improve patient safety and the quality of healthcare delivery;
- The collection and analysis of patient safety work product (PSWP);
- The development and dissemination of information regarding patient safety, such as recommendations, protocols, or information regarding best practices;
- 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;
- The maintenance of procedures to preserve confidentiality with respect to PSWP;
- The provision of appropriate security measures with respect to PSWP;
- The utilization of qualified staff; and
- 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.
About Cogent Healthcare
Founded in 1997, Cogent is a pioneer and leader in the field of hospital medicine. The company partners with hospitals to build and manage highly performing hospitalist programs. In order to relentlessly improve the care and efficiency of hospitalized patients, the Cogent model offers a comprehensive System of Care that supports hospitalists with structure, a coordinated care team, data driven processes, rigorous ongoing training and experienced leadership. Cogent physicians lead the profession by setting best practices for hospital medicine and providing a national mentoring program. For more information, visit www.cogenthealthcare.com.
CONTACT:
Cogent Healthcare
Anne Hancock Toomey, 615-254-0575
KEYWORDS: United States North America Tennessee
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Practice Management Health Hospitals
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