This article chronicles the development of patient safety reporting through the Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) and the Common Formats. It provides an overview of how the system should function and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) development of the Common Formats for standardizing data reporting and analysis. Through accurate data collection and reporting, a health care practice can make safety improvements based on data showing the nature and frequency of events that occur, and the effectiveness of interventions—moving the practice in a positive direction toward value-based, safety conscious and effective care.

The article and case insert are available here and here, respectively.