The HHS Office for Civil Rights and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released new guidance clarifying the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Act's requirements, according to FierceEMR.
Here are seven insights:
1. The guidance outlines which information is classified as "patient safety work product."
2. Providers report PSWP to patient safety organizations, which analyze the data and then recommend strategies to avoid future errors.
3. Information becomes PSWP if providers plan to report it to a patient safety organization; a patient safety organization develops it; or a provider inputs the information into a patient safety evaluation system.
4. PSWP has confidentiality protection.
5. Some providers have labeled information as PSWP, when in fact the information does not qualify as such.
6. The guidance clarified medical records; billing and discharge information; and original patient and provider information do not classify as PSWP.
7. It is emphasized that the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Act did not intend to bar patients from obtaining their records.
