Pennsylvania agency makes reporting newborn injury details voluntary for hospitals

The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority has changed course and voted to make reporting on newborn injuries and deaths optional, PennLive reported July 11.

Data from the state found 169 infant injuries and serious events — including 15 deaths — in 2022, which prompted the authority to develop a strategy for further analyzing the events in hopes of preventing them in the future. 

Following lengthy discussions between the organization and the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania the authority has agreed to make this reporting voluntary. 

The authority is seeking voluntary disclosure in four key areas according to PennLive:

1. A primary cause of the event as identified through hospital internal investigations.
2. Additional contributing factors identified.
3. Actions taken or planned to correct this moving forward. 
4. Any other important details that surfaced from internal investigations that have not been reported to the authority.

"We appreciate the optional approach as an improvement on the prior proposal," Robert Shipp PhD, BSN, RN, the vice president of population health and clinical affairs at the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania told PennLive. "We greatly appreciate the fact that PSA is listening to stakeholders, and we look forward to working together to make sure that every patient gets safe quality care here in Pennsylvania."