What is the importance of the privacy and confidentiality protections for PSWP?
The Patient Safety Act makes PSWP privileged and confidential. The Patient Safety Act and the Patient Safety Rule generally bar the use of PSWP in criminal, civil, administrative, or disciplinary proceedings except where specifically permitted. Strong privacy and confidentiality protections are intended to encourage greater participation by providers in the examination of patient safety events. By establishing strong protections, providers may engage in more detailed discussions about the causes of adverse events without the fear of liability from information and analyses generated from those discussions. Greater participation by health care providers will ultimately result in more opportunities to identify and address the causes of adverse events, thereby improving patient safety overall.
