NPSB Coalition Advances Policy Progress

On April 25, the National Patient Safety Board (NPSB) Advocacy Coalition gathered for their second meeting of the year. Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) President and CEO Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, welcomed new members to the coalition: Avkin, Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety, Meridian Healthcare Consulting, and Patients for Patient Safety US. JHF Chief Policy Officer Robert Ferguson, MPH, reviewed updated NPSB legislative opportunities, including specifications for a public-private healthcare safety team established by and within the proposed NPSB. Withing the first two years of the NPSB, the public-private healthcare safety team would review, update, and prioritize measures for patient safety events, identify data sources for patient safety measures, and recommend patient safety data surveillance technologies and specifications to identify and anticipate the patient safety measures. During the third year and beyond, the team would maintain the measures, data sources, and surveillance technologies, and identify or develop solutions based on the causes of the patient safety events. Ferguson thanked coalition members for their feedback, which contributed to this addition to the NPSB proposal. 

James Gelfand, JD, SVP of health policy at the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), reviewed an updated policy and advocacy plan for the coalition and listed targeted next steps for the coalition.