In this issue;

- Illinois Trial Court Upholds Patient Safety Act Privilege Protection of Walgreens Patient Safety Work Product in Case of First Impression

- Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Quality and Risk Management

- What the Risk Manager Should Know About Medical Staff Bylaws

- PSOs Made Easy!

- Disruptive Physicians: From Credentialing to Disciplinary Action

- Ethics and Integrity in Healthcare Quality Practice

- Patient Safety Organizations: Overview, Benefits and Practical Applications Under Health Care Reform

- 16th National Morrisey User Group Meeting, August 2011

- Impact of ACOs on Physician/Provider Membership Decisions

- Legal Update: Case Developments in New York That Affect MSPs

An excerpt from Illinois Trial Court Upholds Patient Safety Act Privilege Protection of Walgreens Patient Safety Work Product in Case of First Impression

In a case that has attracted national attention, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) sued Walgreens when it refused to turn over the medication error incident reports for three of its pharmacists. The basis for Walgreens’ decision was that these documents were collected as part of the company’s patient safety evaluation system and reported to The Patient Safety Research Foundation, its component patient safety organization (PSO), which was certified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as permitted under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). The trial court ruled in Walgreens’ favor and dismissed the IDFPR’s lawsuit holding that the incident reports were protected under the PSQIA and therefore not discoverable. The case is now on appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court, which is likely to be the first appellate court to interpret the provisions of the PSQIA.