The Ohio Patient Safety Institute (OPSI) is an organization dedicated to improving patient safety in Ohio. The Institute is a subsidiary of the Ohio Health Council, which was founded by the Ohio Hospital Association, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. Through this collaboration and common effort, OPSI has the ability to work with over 180 hospitals and 9,000 physicians in Ohio to improve patient safety for all Ohioans.

Patient Safety Organization

OPSI was designated by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as a Patient Safety Organization in February 2009. OPSI is the first organization in Ohio to receive federal designation. The federal designation allows OPSI legal authority to collect medical error data from Ohio hospitals without subjecting individual data to unintended use as evidence in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Hospital participation with a Patient Safety Organization is voluntary. OPSI’s goal is to collect data from all Ohio hospitals to ensure that the most accurate, comparative data is available to hospitals and to the public.

Board of Trustees and Committees
OPSI's Board of Trustees is composed of a multi-disciplinary team of health care professionals through out the state of Ohio. The members of the Board are committed to increasing patient safety through their participation with OPSI and in their own organizations. 

OPSI is also composed of two committees of health care professionals that drive patient safety education, collaboration and communication.

Mission
The Ohio Patient Safety Institute is the leader and catalyst in developing and transforming healthcare into a reliable, safe delivery system.

Principles

The approach to the issue must be part of an overall culture of quality improvement and patient safety. The structure created to address the issue must have public and provider confidence. The approach to the issue must be pro-active and patient outcome focused. The participation of multiple stakeholders is necessary to address the issue because it is complex and multi-dimensional. The long-term commitment of resources by all stakeholders is necessary to bring about meaningful results and changes in practice. An approach that emphasizes systems improvement rather than relying solely on human error and punitive approaches will result in the most gain over the long term. A voluntary reporting system with adequate legal protection will encourage more complete and accurate reporting of errors, adverse events or potential adverse events as well as successfully implemented solutions. Efforts to significantly reduce adverse patient events should focus on areas that have the most meaningful impact on outcomes of care. To achieve a significant reduction of adverse patient events, practical solutions that emphasize prevention of adverse events, detection or errors, and improved system design must be identified and disseminated. The patient, as a major stakeholder in the health care system, must be encouraged to be an active participant in the effort to reduce adverse patient events.