The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has called a meeting of patient safety organizations (PSOs) and software developers to discuss the technical aspects of reporting safety incidents electronically.
The meeting on May 11 in Rockville, MD, will focus on the specifications of implementing AHRQ's Common Format for medical error reporting. Agency officials will also present updates of the Common Format, as well as a new incident reporting form for skilled nursing facilities.
AHRQ is conducting the meeting to move the industry toward meeting the goals of the Patient Safety Act, which established the PSOs. The law requires PSOs "to collect patient safety work product from providers in a standardized manner in order to permit valid comparisons of similar cases among similar providers."
Few PSOs are themselves software developers. In fact, when GE Healthcare put out a press release about its PSO receiving AHRQ recognition, the company barely mentioned its role as an information technology vendor.
To learn more:
--Read the AHRQ meeting notice in the Federal Register
--Check out the Health Data Management article
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