Quality Quarterly

HQI Cares: Helping Hospitals Achieve the Anticipated CMS Patient Safety Measure

Doing all we can to ensure patient safety is not just the right thing to do, it is also increasingly an expectation of hospital regulators.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently considering a new quality measure to assess how effectively hospitals have implemented strategies and practices to ensure patient safety. The new proposed Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM) would roll out in 2025. It would require hospitals to attest to the existence of various organizational factors that have been shown to support safety improvements. These include a culture of safety measurement, implementation of communication and resolution programs, high-reliability practices, just culture, and establishment of patient and family advisory councils. 

HQI has a program designed to help hospitals achieve these milestones: HQI Cares: Implementing BETA HEART® leads hospitals to develop a reliable and sustainable culture of safety; a consistent, empathetic, and transparent response to patient harm; and effective and proactive care of the caregivers. Over 60 California hospitals are currently participating. 

For more information about this program, contact Boris Kalanj, HQI Director of Programs, at (916) 505-3429 or bkalanj@hqinstitute.org.