Safe Table Series: Beyond the Report
Regional Collaboration to Address Urgent Patient Safety Challenges
The Safe Table series exemplifies the unique value of the Mid-Atlantic Patient Safety Center’s PSO: facilitating cross-institutional learning that leads to scalable, systems-based improvements in patient safety. Together, we can transform Maryland’s adverse event data into bold, collaborative action that protects patients and strengthens care across the state.
For more information, please contact programs@marylandpatientsafety.org
Participant Expectations
Confidentiality & Patient Safety Work Product (PSWP) Protections
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Submit a signed confidentiality agreement prior to participation
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Do not disclose patient identifiers or provider-specific details
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All discussion and materials are protected as PSWP; unauthorized disclosure is subject to penalty
Virtual Environment
Join from a private, quiet space with your camera on
Use a name-identifiable Zoom profile; ambiguous names (e.g., "iPhone" or phone numbers) may be removed
Engage respectfully and constructively
Active Engagement
Bring forward lessons learned, contributing factors, and system-level insights
Help connect the dots across care settings—enabling the identification of shared barriers and joint opportunities
Share solutions and tools your organization has found effective, contributing to the collective resource pool
Be prepared to challenge conventional fixes and help the group explore higher-leverage, structural strategies
About the Series
The Beyond the Report Safe Table series is a bi-monthly, confidential forum hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Patient Safety Organization, the region’s trusted PSO and convener for healthcare improvement. These virtual convenings bring together hospitals, health systems, and healthcare professionals from across the region to engage in shared learning and collective problem-solving.
The series begins with the priority areas identified in the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality’s (OHCQ) Annual Patient Safety Program Report, translating those findings into coordinated regional action.
By convening peers across institutions, MAPSO provides what no single hospital or system can achieve alone—a unique platform to surface trends, share experiences, and co-develop solutions that are broader, stronger, and more effective than siloed approaches.
What Are Safe Tables?
Safe Tables are legally protected, confidential discussions conducted under the authority of the Mid-Atlantic Patient Safety Organization (PSO). They offer a psychologically –and legally–safe space where providers can speak openly, learn from one another, and collaborate on solutions without fear of blame or regulatory exposure.
These sessions go beyond traditional root cause analyses, enabling participants to take a deeper dive into the systemic contributors of adverse events, moving past lower-impact recommendations and into the realm of true system redesign to support patients and the care team.
The collective value of these discussions is in the aggregation of insights across institutions, enabling participants to see common patterns, learn from others’ innovations, and identify risks or opportunities they might not otherwise encounter within their own organizations.
Why It Matters
OHCQ’s annual report reveals critical safety challenges in Maryland hospitals—such as pressure injuries, patient falls, retained surgical items, maternal morbidity, and delayed response to clinical deterioration. These areas align with experiences in other states and across the nation. While these issues are often reviewed within individual hospitals or health systems, meaningful and sustained progress requires regional learning and collective action.
That’s where the Mid-Atlantic Patient Safety Organization plays a vital role: creating the infrastructure and trust for organizations to come together, share data and experiences, and pursue solutions that no single facility or system—no matter how advanced—might develop and implement in isolation.
This Safe Table series is designed to elevate the conversation, deepen analysis beyond standard RCA outcomes, and drive forward a more effective ecosystem of high-impact, cross-cutting solutions.
Session Format
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Dates: July 17, 2025, October 9, 2025, December 11, 2025, February 12, 2026, May 14, 2026, June 11, 2026
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Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET
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Format: Virtual (Zoom)Requirements: Signed Confidentiality Agreement
What to Expect in Each Session
Each session encourages participants to move past low-leverage fixes (like new procedures or additional training) and to co-develop more robust, system-based interventions by leveraging insights that only emerge when organizations learn together.
Review of selected adverse events and failure points identified in OHCQ’s safety report
Facilitated discussions that push beyond surface-level causes to examine design flaws, workflow gaps, and system-wide vulnerabilities
Contributions from participants across hospitals and health systems—offering diverse insights and lessons that broaden the understanding of risks
Sharing of tools such as workflows, checklists, policy templates, and dashboards that have been effective in our region’s healthcare settings
Guest speakers and experts in clinical safety, regulation, and systems thinking to inform and inspire transformative approaches