Designing Consumer Reporting Systems for Patient Safety Events

Contract Final Report

Based on a series of technical expert panel meetings, consumer focus groups, interviews with key stakeholders, and an environment scan and literature review, this project addressed a series of questions about the ideal characteristics of a consumer reporting system, and how such a system could be realistically implemented. (For a summary, select Project Overview.)

The technical expert panel was able to reach consensus on many aspects of consumer reporting systems. However, the panel suggested that there may be a number of types of organizational structures capable of supporting consumer reporting. The report ends with discussion of what is needed to make consumer reporting successful, and the limitations of the study.

This report was funded by the by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through Contract No. 290-06-00001-5.

Contents

• Executive Summary
• Chapter 1. Background
• Chapter 2. Conceptual Framework and Design
• Chapter 3. Description of Methods
• Chapter 4. Results and Key Findings
• Chapter 5. Analysis—Potential Consumer Reporting System Design
• Chapter 6. Discussion and Policy Implications
• Chapter 7. References
• Appendix A. Members of the Technical Expert Panel
• Appendix B. Peer Reviewers

Prepared for:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
www.ahrq.gov

Prepared by:

RTI International, Washington, DC and Research Triangle Park, NC^a and
Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, Chicago, IL^b

Investigators:

^a Michael T. Halpern, M.D., Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, RTI International
^a Amy Elizabeth Roussel, Ph.D.
Vice President, RTI International
^a Katherine Treiman, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Senior Research Scientist, RTI International
^a Patrick A. Nerz, B.A.
Health Services Analyst, RTI International
^b Martin J. Hatlie, J.D.
CEO, Project Patient Care, and Co-founder and Program Director, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety
^b Susan Sheridan, M.I.M., M.B.A.
Co-Founder, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety and Expert Lead, Patients for Patient Safety, World Health Organization

Acknowledgments

The authors are pleased to acknowledge the assistance of the members of the project's Technical Expert Panel; the consumers who participated in focus groups and provided their insights regarding patient safety experience; stakeholders who participated in interviews; the external reviewers of this report; Asta Sorensen (RTI International); and Dr. James Battles (AHRQ) and Dr. Linda Greenberg (formerly, AHRQ).