National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Public Reporting of Patient Safety Event Information 

The primary aim of public reporting is to promote learning among providers and consumers regarding the nature and prevalence of safety risks. This report provides guidance to those who sponsor and produce healthcare quality and safety data reports. It draws on earlier National Quality Forum (NQF) work related to consumer-focused public reporting while focusing on the unique characteristics of patient safety event reporting. It is intended to help report sponsors to ensure that the reports they issue are useful to consumers in healthcare decisionmaking and to healthcare organizations, healthcare professionals, regulatory bodies, quality improvement organizations, and policymakers in promoting accountability and driving patient safety improvement. This guidance applies to reports across all environments of care and to all report forms.