The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued RFP No. 12-10005 on March 19, 2012 entitled “Patient Safety Organization Privacy Protection Center” (PSOPPC). The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 authorized the creation of Patient Safety Organizations (PSO) to collect, aggregate, and analyze confidential and privileged information regarding the quality and safety of healthcare.
The Patient Safety Act also authorized AHRQ to develop a “Network of Patient Safety Databases” (NPSD) where PSOs can voluntarily contribute non-identifiable patient safety event information. The NPSD is going to report on non-identifiable, aggregated patient safety event information to be included in AHRQ’s Annual National Healthcare Quality Report and in the National Healthcare Disparities Report.
AHRQ established the PSOPPC to assist PSOs and others to make certain that patient safety event information be made non-identifiable prior to sending to the NPSD. The main requirement of this contract is to provide guidance to PSOs with how to use common formats and how to render patient safety event information non-identifiable.
The Contractor selected must maintain the PSOPPC and the information received by the PSOPPC must be handled with extreme care, adhere to high standards of quality control, and be managed efficiently and transparently. Also, the PSOPPC must operate in tight coordination with the NPSD.
The Contractor must also maintain the PSOPPC website and databases, transfer non-identifiable information concerning patient safety events to the NPSD, provide assistance and training to PSOs, and conduct several meetings and conference calls.
A Notice of Intent is due April 12, 2012 with proposals due April 19, 2012. For more information, go to www.fbo.gov or email Kathryn Carr at kethryn.carr@ahrq.hhs.gov or phone 301-427-1151.
