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Patient Safety Advisory Group Fact Sheet

  • The Patient Safety Advisory Group helps identify critical and emerging patient safety issues.
  • It also suggests effective methods for reducing patient safety risks.

The Patient Safety Advisory Group is comprised of nurses, physicians, pharmacists, risk managers and other professionals who have hands-on experience in addressing patient safety issues in a wide variety of health care settings. The group also:

  • Reviews draft patient safety recommendations for potential publication in the Joint Commission’s periodic Sentinel Event Alert advisory and advises Joint Commission staff as to the evidence for and face validity of these recommendations, as well as their practicality and cost of implementation.
  • Recommends potential future topics for Sentinel Event Alert and Quick Safety.

In April 2002, The Joint Commission appointed a panel of widely recognized patient safety experts to advise it on the development of Sentinel Event Alert, The Joint Commission’s patient safety newsletter. At that time, the panel was named the Sentinel Event Advisory Group; in 2009 the panel was renamed the Patient Safety Advisory Group.

Advisory group members

  • Patrick J. Brennan, MD, Professor of Medicine, Chief Medical Officer, University of Pennsylvania Health System
  • Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD, President, Institute for Safe Medication Practices
  • Frank Federico, BS, RPh, Executive Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
  • Martin J. Hatlie, Esq, President, Partnership for Patient Safety
  • Paul Kelley, Director, Biomedical Engineering and Green Initiative, Washington Hospital
  • Patricia A. McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
  • Daniel J Ross, MD, DDS, FACEP, CPE, Acting Branch Chief, Clinical Quality Management Chief, Patient Safety Program Clinical Support Division Medical Affairs, Defense Health Agency
  • Matthew Scanlon, MD, Knowledge and Solutions Architect, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

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For more information, contact Ana Pujols McKee, MD, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, or 630-792-5350.