Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (“PSQIA”) was passed by Congress in 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush, as a reaction to a study done by the Institute of Medicine which claimed that there are a substantial number of deaths in hospitals which are caused by human or medical error.

The PSQIA protects the confidentiality, even in court proceedings, of efforts undertaken in hospitals to review and reduce the number of errors.

The PSQIA is the subject of a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court in the summer of 2017, on appeal of a decision by the Florida Supreme Court, in Southern Baptist Hosp. of Florida v. Jean Charles, Sup. Ct. No. 16-1446. Cert. was denied in that case on Oct. 2, 2017.

Litigation

A total of 23 reported decisions concern the PSQIA and discrimination, as of Sept. 21, 2023.