[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 9558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1725]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Meetings on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings, including telephone call-in.

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SUMMARY: We are considering how to implement the Patient Safety and 
Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Act), including such questions as how 
the Act might be applied to various organizational configurations and 
how best to ensure that the statute's fundamental confidentiality 
objectives are achieved. To help us better understand the thinking and 
plans of providers that are interested in seeking out patient safety 
organization (PSO) services, and of entities that anticipate 
establishing such an organization, this notice invites the public to 
provide information that may assist the Agency, either in person or by 
telephone call-in, at three related public meetings.

DATES: The three public meetings will be held on Wednesday, March 8, 
2006; Monday, March 13, 2006; and Thursday, March 16, 2006. Each 
meeting will be held from 12:30 p.m. EST until finished (no later than 
3:30 p.m. EST).

ADDRESSES: The meetings on March 8 and 13 will be held at AHRQ, John M. 
Eisenberg Building, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850. The meeting 
on March 16 will be held at Hilton Washington Embassy Row, 2015 
Massachusetts Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen Hogan, Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850; Telephone: 
301-427-1307; E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Act is intended to help health care 
providers improve patient safety, reduce the incidence of events that 
adversely effect patient safety, and otherwise improve the quality of 
health care delivery. More specifically, the Act, by establishing a 
Federal privilege and mandating confidentiality protection, encourages 
health care providers to contract with PSOs to collect and analyze data 
on patient safety events (including ``near misses,'' ``close calls,'' 
and ``no-harm'' events as well as other types of patient safety 
events), to develop and disseminate information to improve patient 
safety, and to provide feedback and assistance to reduce patient risk. 
The decision to contract with a PSO is voluntary.

Registration and Other Information About the Meetings

    We request that interested persons register with the Cygnus 
Corporation on the Internet at http://www.cygnusc.com/ to participate 
in one or more meetings either in person or by telephone. The contact 
at Cygnus Corporation is Megan Griggs who can be reached by telephone 
at (301) 231-7537, ext. 260 and by e-mail at [email protected]. 
Interested persons should register at least the day before a meeting in 
which they wish to participate. Non-registered individuals will be able 
to attend a meeting in person if space is available. However, we will 
not be able to provide a telephone hook-up for those that do not 
register at least the day before the meeting.
    If sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation 
for a disability is needed, please contact Mr. Donald L. Inniss, 
Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Program Support 
Center, on (301) 443-1144.
    Each public meeting is scheduled for a three-hour period, but will 
end sooner if participants have finished providing input before the 
time period expires. We are asking for input concerning specific topics 
as follows:
    March 8, 2006: Provider--PSO relationships, contracts, and 
disclosures. March 13, 2006: Operation of a component PSO (a PSO that 
is part of another organization). March 16, 2006: Security and 
Confidentiality issues.
    We request that input regarding the specified topics be provided at 
the meeting scheduled for that topic. After those who wish to provide 
input on the specific topics have finished, participants will be 
welcome to provide input on other issues regarding the implementation 
of the Act. The format for the meetings is intended to allow 
participants not only to provide input, but also to respond to the 
input provided by others. We especially request input from entities 
interested in becoming or creating PSOs and from providers interested 
in contracting with PSOs.
    To help interested individuals prepare for the meetings, we invite 
review of the Act. The full text is set forth on the Internet at: 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/ (search for ``Public Law 109--41.'')
    Also, we will establish an e-mail notification list to provide 
interested parties with automatic notification of relevant information 
posted on the AHRQ Web site (http://www.ahrq.gov) concerning the PSO 
program. To be added to the e-mail notification list, send your e-mail 
address to [email protected] and use the words ``Add me to the 
list'' in the subject line.
    These meetings will be primarily listening sessions for the Agency 
and potentially an opportunity for dialogue among participants. We 
believe that the input received at the public meetings will be most 
helpful in providing the Agency with background information, fostering 
fact finding, and broadening awareness of issues raised by the 
legislation. We generally will not respond to the presentations during 
the meetings and will not regard them as formal comments that must be 
addressed in later rulemaking documents.

    Dated: February 17, 2006.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-1725 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M