The long-awaited regulations implementing the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act ("PSQIA") were issued in proposed form in the Federal Register on Tuesday, February 12.

The PSQIA, passed in 2005, was designed to allow organizations engaged in "patient safety activities" to use and share data (such as peer review and credentialing information) without fear that the information will be discovered in a lawsuit. As the preamble to the regulations states: "For the first time, there will now be a uniform set of Federal protections that will be available in all states and U.S. territories and that extend to all health care practitioners and institutional providers." This  is welcome news  for  all hospitals and medical staffs,  but is especially welcome for those in states like Florida where state peer review protections have been eroded or eliminated in recent years.

Among other things, the proposed regulations set out a process for entities wishing to be designated as "patient safety organizations," define the extent of the privilege that will extend to "patient safety work product," and establish confidentiality and security requirements, which include civil money penalties for violations. The proposed regulations are open to public comment for 60 days, until April 14, 2008.

To bring you up to date on what these regulations say, and suggest what you might want to do now to take maximum advantage of this major opportunity to protect your peer review and patient safety activities, HortySpringer presents this audio recording.

Audio CD or MP3: $225