BOSTON – The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced a new membership program for patient safety professionals that will provide an opportunity for sharing of best practices and the unification of the growing patient safety community.

New members can join the American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety at NPSF starting in January 2011.

In addition, beginning in January 2012, NPSF will start a certification program specifically designed to standardize a curriculum and elevate the patient safety profession. Taken together with society membership, this will provide a level of professional development for practitioners of patient safety that does not currently exist.

"Patient safety is a top priority for our healthcare system," said Lucian L. Leape, MD, chair of the Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF. "But we will not be able to truly move the needle until those who are involved in the practice have the knowledge base necessary to do the job. The certification program is an essential element in that quest."

The program will offer certification for healthcare professionals according to criteria determined through clinical research and industry best practices. Certification for Professionals in Patient Safety (CPPS) will enable care providers and others to assess activities that affect patient safety according to the best available information, and implement strategies to reduce medical errors.

"Patient safety is an obligation for all health professionals, and a critical component of improving the quality and efficiency of care delivery to meet the challenges of healthcare reform," said Diane Pinakiewicz, president of the National Patient Safety Foundation.

She added that NPSF has "led the campaign for patient safety since 1997 and, with help from the best minds in medicine, we are proud to establish a home organization for what has often been a fragmented patient safety community, provide the educational tools needed to bring consistency and standards to the patient safety discipline and help healthcare professionals hone their skills and keep patients safe."

Membership in the American Society of Professionals in Patient Safety is open to professionals whose primary responsibility is patient safety as well as others across the healthcare disciplines, including medical students, providers, risk and quality leaders, patient safety advocates and all those committed to safe patient care.

Individual membership is the newest addition to NPSF's portfolio, which include continuing education credits through the Professional Learning Series, Annual Patient Safety Congress and other high-value programs.