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The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute Announces Exclusive Partnership with Salus Global Corporation to Launch MORE(OB) to U.S. Market

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 08:41 CST

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute (RM&PSI), a national leader in clinical risk management practices and patient safety programs for health care institutions and providers, today announced a three-year license partnership with Salus Global Corporation to market Salus's MORE(OB) patient safety and performance improvement program to U.S. hospitals and health care systems. Under the agreement, which was effective January 1, 2009, RM&PSI becomes the only group other than Salus to market the program in the United States.

London, Ontario-based Salus was formed in 2007 as the result of the common interest of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada to improve patient safety for obstetrics patients. Salus is active throughout Canada with more than 160 hospitals participating in the MORE(OB) program.

MORE(OB) (Managing Obstetrical Risk Efficiently) is a comprehensive, three-year, patient safety, professional development, and performance improvement program for caregivers and administrators in hospital obstetrics units. The program's structure is based on the proven principles of High Reliability Organizations (organizations defined as having fewer than normal accidents), including: safety as the priority, effective communication, teamwork, decreased hierarchy in emergencies, practice for emergencies and reflective learning. With its trained program facilitators, the MORE(OB) program helps health care organizations integrate evidence-based professional practice standards and guidelines with proven patient safety concepts, principles and tools.

Under the terms of the agreement, RM&PSI will also serve as the exclusive service provider of the MORE(OB) program within the U.S. health care market. RM&PSI staff will serve as facilitators and trainers, leading health care organizations to understand and apply the principles of the MORE(OB) program.

"After building significant momentum in the Canadian health care arena with our MORE(OB) program, Salus was looking to expand into the U.S. market," said Dr. Ken Milne, CEO and president of Salus Global Corporation. "We felt the best entree was to partner with a nationally recognized clinical risk management company. With the RM&PSI, we have the added benefit of their highly trained team of risk management experts and facilitators."

Medical error is a leading cause of death in the United States. According to the ground-breaking 2000 report, To Err is Human, the total national costs for preventable medical error are between $17 billion and $20 billion. For health care organizations, obstetrics is one of the highest areas of risk. The MORE(OB) program -- delivered to hospitals on-site with trained facilitators -- seeks to help organizations eliminate the "culture of blame", build confidence in competency, improve patient safety and quality of care, and decrease adverse events and clinical error in the obstetrical unit.

"As a leader in the risk management and patient safety field, RM&PSI is always looking for leading-edge practices for our health care clients," said Karol Wareck, RM&PSI group vice president. "The MORE(OB) program is not only based on the latest research and techniques, it has a proven record of driving measureable outcomes in the form of improved clinical and patient safety."

About RM&PSI

The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute (RM&PSI) is focused on clinical risk reduction, quality patient outcomes and education. The RM&PSI is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians, and is an accredited provider of nursing continuing education. For more information, visit www.rmpsi.com. For more information about the company's products and services, visit http://store.rmpsi.com.

About Salus Global

Salus Global Corporation enables greater patient safety performance by healthcare professionals and their teams. Salus does this by delivering high-quality programs that identify and address the needs of those teams in improving their inter-professional learning, communication, teamwork, and culture.

Salus was created through the combined investiture of The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) the leading provider of healthcare liability insurance in Canada, This joint effort has provided the resources necessary to expand the highly successful MORE(OB) (Managing Obstetrical Risk Efficiently) and Advancing with MORE(OB) programs across Canada and in the United States. It has also enabled a nurturing environment for the continued introduction of broader patient safety programs. For more information, visit www.salusgc.com and www.moreob.com.

About FinCor Holdings

Through its subsidiaries -- FinCor Solutions, The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute, MHA Insurance Company, Washington Casualty Company and Capital Risk Solutions, SPC -- FinCor Holdings Inc. provides industry-leading insurance products and support services, including medical professional liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance and clinical risk management solutions to clients nationally. With its years of experience focusing on financial loss protection and clinical risk reduction, FinCor Holdings has built an outstanding reputation for serving the needs of the health care industry. For more information, visit www.fincorholdings.com.

SOURCE The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute

Source: PR Newswire

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