The West Virginia Center for Patient Safety has been recognized as one of the nation’s leaders in patient safety by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which approved the West Virginia Center’s Patient Safety Organization (PSO) application.
The Federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 authorized the creation of PSOs to reduce the incidence of events that adversely affect patients. As a PSO, the West Virginia Center is authorized to collect, aggregate and analyze health care data provided by partnering medical facilities and initiate projects to improve care in a non-punitive environment. The Center’s goal is to continuously improve safety and quality of care for West Virginia health care consumers.
The Center is a partnership of the West Virginia Medical Institute (WVMI), the West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA) and the West Virginia State Medical Association (WVSMA).
“At the core of each of our organizations’ missions is the commitment to protect and enhance, to the greatest extent possible, the safety of our patients. In this era of increased attention on health care reform, our three organizations working together through the newly established West Virginia Center for Patient Safety recognize that the safety of the people served by our state’s health care system is a priority concern. We are honored to have received the PSO designation and look forward to broadening our activities and services throughout West Virginia,” says Evan Jenkins, executive director, WVSMA.
More information about PSOs can be found at the AHRQ Web site.
