What You Should Know About the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) of 2005
Image Copyright Chad McDermott, 2012
By Lindsey Webster
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 was implemented as a way “by which hospitals, doctors and other health care providers may voluntarily report information to certified Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), on a privileged and confidential basis, for the aggregation and analysis of patient safety events.”
This act is an amendment to the Public Health Service Act and gives health care providers the ability to volunteer any sensitive information related to patient safety without fear of liability. The hope is that more providers will volunteer this information which should increase the quality of patient care and improve patient safety.
Although the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires health care providers to obtain authorization from patients before disclosing patient information, the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act does not require providers to do this. This is because certified Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) (whom providers disclose patient safety information to) are treated as business associates, and the patient safety activities between providers and PSOs are treated as health care operations. In the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, it states that providers may disclose patient information with other business associates when it is part of a health care operation without having to obtain authorization from the patient. Also, because Patient Safety Organizations are treated as business associates, they must tell providers if the information is being used or disclosed in any unethical or illegal way.
It is very important to notify your health care staff of these protections. It is especially important to point out that providers do not have to obtain authorization from the patient before volunteering any information to a PSO about a safety event. A safety event is any event that involves error on the part of any member of the health care staff in regards to patient care. A safety event can have direct impact on patient care, indirect impact on patient care (what’s called a “near miss” or a “close call”) or can be about unsafe facility conditions.
Patient Safety Organizations were created as safe, secure, central units that receive and protect sensitive patient information. These organizations allow health care providers to share data within a “protected legal environment, both within and across states, without the threat that the information will be used against the subject providers.” It is important to note, however, that the act explicitly states that this does not mean providers will no longer need to comply with other Federal, State or local laws pertaining to confidential information that is not covered by the Patient Safety Act.
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