Training a patient safety work force: the patient safety improvement corps.

Objective: Evaluate short-term effects of the Patient Safety Improvement Corps (PSIC), an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality–sponsored program to train state teams in patient safety skills/tools, to assess its contribution to building a national infrastructure supporting effective patient safety practices.

Data Source: Self-reported information gathered from (1) group interviews at the end of each year; (2) individual telephone interviews 1 year later; (3) faxed information forms 2 years later.

Study Design: Program evaluation of immediate and short-term process and impact (use of skills/tools, information sharing, changes in practice).

Data Collection: Semistructured interviews; faxed forms.

Principal Findings: One year after training, approximately half of Year 1 and 2 state agency representatives reported they had initiated or modified legislation to strengthen safe practices, and modified adverse event oversight procedures. Approximately three-quarters of hospital representatives said training contributed to modifications to adverse event oversight procedures and promotion of patient safety culture. Two years posttraining, approximately three-quarters of Year 1 trainees said they continued to use many skills/tools.

Conclusions: The PSIC contributed to building a national infrastructure supporting effective patient safety practices. Expanded training is needed to reach a larger fraction of the population for which this training is important.