National / International

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
AAAHC's mission is to maintain its position as the preeminent leader in developing standards to advance and promote patient safety, quality, value, and measurement of performance for ambulatory healthcare through peer-based accreditation processes, education, and research.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ is a Public Health Service agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on healthcare outcomes, quality of care, cost, use, and access. Among its other mandates, AHRQ is charged by Congress to promote patient safety and reduce medical errors.

American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM)
ASHRM promotes effective and innovative risk management strategies and professional leadership through education, recognition, advocacy, publications, networking, and interactions with leading healthcare organizations and government agencies.

Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF)
APSF's mission is to improve continually the safety of patients during anesthesia care by encouraging and conducting safety research and education, patient safety programs and campaigns, and national and international exchange of information.

Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
AORN is a national association committed to improving patient safety in the surgical setting.

Australian Patient Safety Foundation, Inc. (APSF)
APSF is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to the advancement of patient safety.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
CMS is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and its mission is to ensure effective, up-to-date healthcare coverage and to promote quality care for beneficiaries.

For Comparing Hospitals (CMS)
This webpage developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allows you to compare hospitals.

For Comparing Nursing Homes (CMS)
This webpage developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allows you to compare nursing homes.

Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS)
CAPS is a consumer-led nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote patient safety by building partnerships between patients and providers. It represents individuals, consumers, and healthcare practitioners in promoting safe, patient-centered healthcare delivery.

ECRI Institute
For nearly 50 years, ECRI Institute has been dedicated to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best. A prime contractor of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, ECRI Institute has a page on its website for the consumer.

Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine [IOM])
The division of the National Academies provides unbiased, evidence-based information and advice concerning health and science policy on matters related to biomedical science, medicine, and health. Its 1999 report, "To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System" (commonly called "the IOM report"), brought the issue of medical errors to national attention.

Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET)
HRET's goal is to advance ideas and practices beneficial to healthcare practitioners, institutions, consumers, and society at large. 

Healthgrades
Healthgrades provides ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans, and hospitals.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP)
HAP is a statewide membership services organization that advocates for nearly 250 Pennsylvania acute and specialty care, primary care, subacute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice providers, as well as the patients and communities they serve.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
IHI is a nonprofit organization furthering the quality and value of healthcare. It offers a variety of programs, including education and training on quality improvement and change management and is spearheading the "100,000 Lives Campaign," an outcomes-based initiative recommended to Pennsylvania healthcare facilities by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.

Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) 
ISMP devotes its work entirely to medication-error prevention and safe medication use. A subcontractor for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, ISMP has developed a website for consumers, to help prevent medical errors (consumermedsafety.org).

Joint Commission
Joint Commission is a national accrediting organization for many types of healthcare facilities, among them hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, and assisted living and long-term care facilities. It has a strong focus on patient safety that includes its annual National Patient Safety Goals and the Speak Up! program designed for consumers.

Leapfrog Group for Patient Safety
Leapfrog is a voluntary program made up of 160 companies and organizations that buy healthcare. It focuses on reducing costs by preventing medical mistakes and improving quality of care.

National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)
NASHP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping states improve health policy and practice. NASHP has published numerous reports, including several on patient safety.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
NCQA develops programs and provides services that reflect a straightforward formula for improvement: Measure. Analyze. Improve. Repeat.

National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP)
NCC MERP is dedicated to reducing and preventing medication errors through error reporting. The Council represents a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical industry, physician and hospital associations, AARP, pharmacists, government entities, and nonprofit accrediting agencies. The site includes a segment for consumers on using medications safely and has links to other patient safety organizations.

National Patient Safety Agency (England)
The National Patient Safety Agency of England leads and contributes to improved, safe patient care by informing, supporting, and influencing the health sector. 

National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF)
NPSF, representing healthcare institutions, professional practitioner associations, government agencies, consumers, and other health promotion, quality improvement, and patient safety organizations, is dedicated solely to patient safety. The website includes resources for all components of the healthcare industry, including consumers, and provides links to other websites. 

National Quality Forum (NQF)
NQF is a private, nonprofit organization that develops national strategies for measuring healthcare quality and reporting. Through its "Consensus Reports," NQF has been influential in helping establish national standards and guidelines on many issues, including those related to patient safety. 

The Partnership for HealthCare Excellence
The Partnership for HealthCare Excellence is an effort in Massachusetts to help consumers improve the quality of their healthcare.

Partnership for Patient Safety
The Partnership for Patient Safety promotes a patient-centered systems approach to patient safety by emphasizing the importance of developing a culture of safety within healthcare institutions. The website also contains links to other patient safety-related organizations.

Pennsylvania Medical Society
The Pennsylvania Medical Society provides its members with the latest information in healthcare. CME credits may also be obtained through the website.

Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative (PRHI)
PRHI is a regional coalition of hospitals, insurers, businesses, healthcare providers, and corporate and civic leaders committed to promoting patient safety and quality of care. Its focus is on enhancing patient outcomes by identifying and solving problems at the point of care.

VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) 
NCPS is a patient safety program with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs committed to reducing and preventing adverse medical events within VA facilities. The website contains many resources, including patient safety alerts and information about creating a culture of safety, conducting root cause analyses, and other patient safety topics. 

World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and assessing health trends