On February 12, 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule to implement certain aspects of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, which was designed to: (1) encourage health care providers to collect and examine patient safety events; (2) encourage provider arrangements with expert PSOs to receive, aggregate, and analyze data on patient safety events so that PSOs may provide feedback and assistance to the provider to improve patient safety; and (3) enable providers to improve the quality of care delivered and reduce patient risk. To implement the law, the proposed rule would establish a framework by which hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers may voluntarily report information to PSOs, on a privileged and confidential basis, for analysis of patient safety events. The proposed regulations outline the requirements that entities must meet to become PSOs. In addition, the proposed rule would establish confidentiality protections for information that is assembled and developed by providers and PSOs (termed “patient safety work product”) and the procedures for the imposition of civil money penalties for the knowing or reckless impermissible disclosure of patient safety work product. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until April 14. HHS is hosting an audioconference to discuss the proposed rule on February 29.