Per the notice below, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a report on the Patient Safety Organization (PSO) program.

The Patient Safety Organization Program: Key Barriers Impeding Nationwide Progress Toward Reducing Patient Harm in Hospitals (OEI-01-24-00150)

The Patient Safety Organization (PSO) program was the key provision of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (the Act) to facilitate a national patient safety reporting and learning system.  Although PSOs have helped some hospitals and health systems improve, this report describes key challenges that hold the program back from achieving the progress envisioned in the Act.  For instance, the PSO program could be better aligned with other efforts to improve patient safety, including research.  Also, PSOs and hospitals have not meaningfully worked with patients and families, who can be valuable partners in patient safety.