Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington                                                                       
April 5, 2002
(Phone: 202/358-1979)

Jonas Dino
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
(Phone: 650/604-5612)

RELEASE: 02-64

NASA AND VA ROLL OUT NEW PATIENT SAFETY REPORTING SYSTEM

     As of March 2002, patients at Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) hospitals and clinics nationwide will have an 
extra pair of eyes looking out for their safety.

In collaboration with NASA, the VA is rolling out a new 
medical reporting system, called the Patient Safety Reporting 
System (PSRS), to most of its medical facilities nationwide. 
The PSRS is an independent, external system that complements 
the agency's current internal reporting systems. The PSRS is 
modeled after NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), 
an incident-reporting program administered for the Federal 
Aviation Administration by NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett 
Field, Calif.

 "The experience gained in operating the ASRS for 25 years 
will be invaluable in establishing the collection of 
voluntary, confidential data reported by health care 
providers on the front line of patient care in VA 
facilities," said Linda Connell, NASA ASRS/PSRS director.

 "When individuals feel uncomfortable reporting to the 
internal systems, they have a safety valve they can use - the 
PSRS," added Dr. James Bagian, director of the VA's National 
Center for Patient Safety (NCPS). The guiding principles of 
the PSRS are improvement of patient safety through voluntary 
participation, confidential reporting, and non-punitive 
provisions for VA employees who choose to participate, 
according to officials.

The VA operates 163 medical centers across the country and 
last year had more than 3 million patients enrolled in its 
health-care system. The PSRS invites all VA medical facility 
staff to voluntarily report any events or concerns that 
involve patient safety.

PSRS forms and information are available at VA medical 
facilities and on the Internet at:

http://psrs.arc.nasa.gov

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