Welcome to AHRQ's Patient Safety Organization Web Site

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act) authorized the creation of Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) to improve the quality and safety of U.S. health care delivery. The Patient Safety Act encourages clinicians and health care organizations to voluntarily report and share quality and patient safety information without fear of legal discovery.

To implement the Patient Safety Act, the Department of Health and Human Services issued the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Final Rule (Patient Safety Rule). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) administers the provisions of the Patient Safety Act and the Patient Safety Rule dealing with PSO operations. This PSO Web site is designed to give you an understanding of the:

• Purpose and goals of PSOs
• Protections offered by PSOs
• Process for becoming a PSO
• Information on listed PSOs
• Common Formats for reporting patient safety events

To learn more about PSOs, go to PSO Information.