Hospitals join in effort to reduce medical errors

PROVIDENCE – All of Rhode Island’s private, acute care hospitals are participants in the GE Healthcare National Patient Safety Organization, making it the first state to have unanimous participation in a single patient safety organization (PSO), says the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.
The goal is to create a secure environment where hospitals can collect, analyze and aggregate data in order to identify the risks and hazards with patient care and reduce medical errors.
“Medical errors are an issue that demands a forceful response,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who helped Congress establish PSOs in 2005 and has been a strong supporter of this initiative.
“We applaud Rhode Island for creating a culture that supports medical-event reporting as a means to improve patient care,” said Scott Foster, managing principal of GE Healthcare National Patient Safety Organization. “ &#8226