PSO Memo 6-25-2012

To: Joshua Brammer

From: Doris Lefkowitz

CC: William Munier, Director, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Memo regarding Change Requests to Common Formats.

As part of the implementation of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, AHRQ develops and maintains Common Formats for reporting patient safety event data and administers the Patient Safety Organization (PSO) program.

AHRQ published Common Formats, Version 1.1 on March 31, 2010.  As part of continuous quality improvement to the Formats, AHRQ receives user comments on the formats related to their implementation and use. Incorporation of user feedback enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and usability of the Formats.

AHRQ received a request from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to add content to the device module for adverse events related to Health Information Technology, and AHRQ noted a need for content related to Venous Thromboembolism that would complement other Federal patient safety efforts (e.g., Partnership for Patients). Therefore, AHRQ published an updated version of Hospital Common Formats on April 3, 2012, and announced the availability via a Federal Register notice http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-13/html/2012-8743.htm.

• Hospital Version 1.2

Hospital Version 1.2 is considered a minor release of the AHRQ Common Formats; information about this minor release is available at:

https://www.psoppc.org/web/patientsafety/home/-/asset_publisher/C2Vf/content/376023. The most significant changes included in this new version are:

• Incorporation of new data elements for the Device module to include content for patient safety events related to Health IT

• A new module for Venous Thromboembolism events

• RX Norm identifiers for Medication events

• Compatibility with ICD-9 and ICD-10

• Revision of the AHRQ Harm Scale to include extent as well as duration

For a more detailed description of the changes see Attachment A.

 

AHRQ believes it is most practical and efficient to complete a change request that encompasses all of these changes. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Doris Lefkowitz

AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer