Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 26:2H-12.25b

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
1. a. The Department of Health shall include in the New Jersey Hospital Performance Report issued annually by the department hospital-specific data from hospital procedure and diagnosis codes concerning the following patient safety indicators:

(1) Foreign body left during procedure (PSI 05);

(2) Iatrogenic pneumothorax (PSI 06);

(3) Postoperative hip fracture (PSI 08);

(4) Postoperative hemorrhage or hematoma (PSI 09);

(5) Postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) (PSI 12);

(6) Postoperative sepsis (PSI 13);

(7) Postoperative wound dehiscence (PSI 14);

(8) Accidental puncture or laceration (PSI 15);

(9) Transfusion reaction (PSI 16);

(10) Birth trauma (PSI 17);

(11) Obstetric trauma-vaginal delivery with instrument (PSI 18);

(12) Obstetric trauma-vaginal delivery without instrument (PSI 19);

(13) Air embolism; and

(14) Surgery on the wrong side, wrong body part, or wrong person, or wrong surgery performed on a patient.

b. The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Quality Improvement Advisory Committee in the Department of Health, may include additional patient safety indicators in the annual report, by regulation. The commissioner shall consider indicators that: (1) are recommended by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; (2) are suitable for comparative reporting and public accountability, and are risk adjusted; (3) have a strong evidence base with no substantial evidence against their use for comparative reporting; and (4) can be measured through data that are available through hospital procedure and diagnosis codes.

c. The commissioner shall request the Quality Improvement Advisory Committee to study and make recommendations to the commissioner on how to expand public reporting by the department of patient pressure ulcers, patient infections due to hospital care, and falls by patients in general hospitals.

d. The commissioner shall, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt such rules and regulations as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

L.2009, c.122, s.1; amended 2012, c.17, s.192.