Webinar
Making peace with CMS’s patient safety structural measure
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Healthcare providers have long worked to strengthen patient safety, yet sustaining improvements over time remains a challenge. In response, CMS introduced the Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM), which requires participating hospitals to report on defined safety structures and practices designed to embed safety more deeply into daily operations.
This webinar will explore the reasoning behind CMS’s development of the PSSM, as well as the regulatory and organizational sources that define it. It will outline the core reporting requirements and explain what they mean for providers. The session will also present a practical approach to meeting these expectations using existing resources and initiatives.
What you’ll learn
Participants will be able to:
- Identify essential resources to understand the PSSM and develop tailored compliance plans
- Incorporate current safety programs and initiatives into reported compliance
- Create communication pathways that support team engagement with measure‑related activities
About the speaker
Kathy Wire, JD, MBA, CPPS, FASHRM, is an attorney and has worked for more than four decades in patient safety and risk. She is the Executive Director of the Center for Patient Safety, which was listed by AHRQ among the first 10 PSOs in 2009. Before she began working with the Center, she led Risk and Claims for two large regional healthcare systems. She is a frequent speaker for local, state, and national groups such as ASHRM and the American Health Law Association.
About the moderator
Tatum O’Sullivan, RN, BSN, MHSA, CPHRM, DFASHRM, CPPS, is the Healthcare Loss Control Expert for Munich Re Specialty – North America. She was recently the Director of Safety, Risk, and Patient Family Relations at Mass General Brigham Medical Group in Massachusetts. She is a Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management (CPHRM) and Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Health Care Risk Management (DFASHRM).
Tatum is a dedicated member of the American Society for Health Care Risk Management (ASHRM), where she has served and chaired committees. She was previously elected to the advisory board and nominating committee and was the 2024 President of ASHRM. She has been on the Board of the Northern New England and Massachusetts chapters affiliated with ASHRM serving as Secretary and President for both.
Lastly, she is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) and a faculty member for the ASHRM patient safety certificate program. She has presented on risk management and patient safety strategies locally, nationally, and internationally. She was a contributor to several ASHRM workbooks and playbooks. Tatum was a co-author to the 2025 ASHRM white paper, Strategies for Promoting Risk Professional Resilience.
