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DJP Update 2-14-2008 Happy Valentine's Day;
Regulations on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005
Published; Previous Email on Safety act
Just in time for Valentine's Day are the proposed regulations for the 2005
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005.
Study the regulations and give comments if you see any problems. Remember
the goal of the Act is to enhance patient safety by having confidential
reporting of errors or near misses to a patient safety organization.
Then experts study the events to see what is the problem with the system
that caused the error. The fix for the problem is reported back to those
who sent the original report. The lesson learned is posted in a database
so all can benefit from the system fix. The individuals involved in the
original incident report remain confidential.
Perhaps your calls and letters pushed the proposed regulations out into the
public arena as discussed in the DJP Update 1-8-2008. Who knows. Thanks
for your efforts!
Here is the notice from AHRQ mailed out on February 12, 2008:
Proposed Regulations on Patient Safety Organizations Published
Thank you for your continued interest in the Patient Safety and Quality
Improvement Act of 2005. We are pleased to announce that proposed
regulations have been published in the Federal Register today by HHS’ Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The proposed regulations describe how an entity may become a Patient Safety
Organization (PSO) if it meets requirements specified in the Patient Safety
Act. Sections of the proposed regulations also explain how clinicians will
be able to report patient safety events confidentially, how this data will
be shared with others while remaining private, and how clinicians and other
health care organizations will receive feedback on ways to improve
patient safety. AHRQ will administer rules governing the operation of PSOs, and
the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will enforce the
confidentiality provisions of the Act. Members of the public are
invited to comment on the set of proposed rules within the next 60 days
(including weekends and holidays), and their feedback will be used to shape
the final rule. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) can be viewed on
the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ContentViewer?objectId=09000064803acce8&disposition=attachment&contentType=html
.
For more information about the proposed regulation and rulemaking process,
please visit AHRQ’s newly launched PSO Web site at
http://www.pso.ahrq.gov/index.html
.
Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064803acce8
. Comments submitted electronically should include the agency name (AHRQ
and/or OCR) and RIN 0919-AA01.
Mail / Hand Delivery / Courier:
Center for Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyAttention:
Patient Safety Act NPRM
Comments Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
Comments must be postmarked, delivered, or submitted via the eRulemaking
Portal by the last day of the comment period (April 14, 2008). Please note
that comments sent by facsimile (FAX) transmission or electronic mail will
not be accepted.
Comments received through the eRulemaking Portal can be viewed online at the
Web site listed above. All comments received through the eRulemaking Portal,
mail, and hand delivery/courier are available for public inspection at the
AHRQ Information Resources Center, which is located at 540 Gaither Road,
Rockville, MD 20850. The Information Resources Center is open from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Federal business days (Monday
through Friday).
For questions related to the regulatory process and/or the PSO Web site,
please contact:
Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Attention: PSO Office
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
Telephone: (866) 403-3697 (toll free)
(301) 427-1111 (local)
(866) 438-7231 (toll free TTY)
(301) 427-1130 (local TTY)
Thank you again for your interest in this initiative.
You are subscribed to Patient Safety Organizations for Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ). This information has recently been updated, and
is now available.
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or E-mail address, or stop
subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need
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If you have any questions or problems with the subscription service, E-mail:
updates@subscriptions.ahrq.gov. For other inquiries, Contact Us.
If you have questions about AHRQ's activities, please try to find
the answers by checking our Home Page, where we have established links
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and Frequently Asked Questions. You may also Search or Browse the Web Site.
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EXCERPT FROM PREVIOUS DJP UPDATE:
DJP Update 1-8-2008 - DJP Update 1-8-2008 - Patient Safety and
Quality Improvement Act; Louisiana news-DHH Secretary announced by
Gov-Elect Jindal; Safety Meetings; Tulane; Safety; & Lagniappe
ITEM ONE: Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-41),
was signed into law on July 29, 2005. We still do not have the regulations
so that we can start using this important law. This law allows
confidential voluntary reporting of errors, review by experts, and feedback
to those involved with recommendations of how to change the system to
prevent occurrence again. In addition, the information will be on a
de-identified database for all to use so they also can benefit from the
"lessons learned."
My sources tell me that the proposed regulations finally have left
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and are now in
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
For background information about the OMB, see:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Management_and_Budget
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
In July of 2008, it will be three years since this law was signed! I am
reminded of Cicero's lament that I stated in my 2003 AMA Inaugural Address:
"In a debate over liberty in another time and place, the Roman Cicero asked:
'How long must we tolerate these abuses?' That question echoes down through
the ages and resonates with us today." I spoke of the broken medical
liability system. You may argue about the use of the word "abuses" but I
believe we can agree that this is an inefficient way to implement the
overwhelming majority vote in Congress. Do we just pass laws and forget
about them? Why don't we have people crying out for implementation?
It is ridiculous that we have to wait this long to start using what
I consider the most important patient safety advance since the
American College of Surgeons developed the "Minimum Standard for Hospitals"
in 1917. The requirements filled one page. This quest for quality led
to the formation of the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH
- later to become JCAHO and now called Joint Commission.) in 1951.
It was 97 years that the surgeons worked to enhance quality and safety in
hospitals with the "Minimum Standard for Hospitals."
Failing to implement a law timely is not much better than defeating it.
Enough time has passed.
My recommendation is that everyone call or write their representatives and
senators and Congress and ask them to move this along. Nothing like a
little heat in an election year to move an issue.
.....etc.
-----------------------
Stay well,
Donald
(This DJP Update goes to 1650 leaders in Medicine representing all of the
State Medical Associations and over 100 Specialty Societies plus some other
friends.
You can share it with your members and it has the potential to reach 800,000
physicians.
To join the list, send me an email stating "Join DJP Update"
To get off the list, state "Remove DJP Update".)
Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD
Intrepid Resources / The Medical Risk Manager Company
5000 West Esplanade Ave., #432
Metairie, LA 70006
504-455-4895 office
504-455-9392 fax
312-560-0180 cell
DJP@intrepidresources.com
www.intrepidresources.com
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