GUARDIANS OF THE PSSM · PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS
I am preparing for a hospital stay, or supporting someone who is
If you need medical attention now, please do not delay going to the hospital to read this guide. Get the care you need first.
This guide can help you prepare to
speak up for yourself or a loved one from the very beginning of a hospital stay, ideally before you arrive. If you are a caregiver, you may want to review it as soon as your loved one is admitted.
You will learn practical ways to prepare, including how to think through what you want to say and how to practice speaking up when something doesn't seem right.
Start with what you need today
I am preparing for a hospital stay, or supporting someone who is
Hospital care can feel overwhelming, whether you’re preparing for a stay or supporting a loved one.
The Get the Safety You Deserve Guide offers practical tips to help you prepare, ask questions, and speak up when something doesn’t seem right, so you can feel informed, heard, and safer during a hospital stay.
Whether you are advocating for yourself or a loved one, this guide can help you feel more confident participating in care decisions and taking steps to help ensure your concerns are heard from the very beginning of a hospital stay.
If you or someone you care for experienced harm
Hospital stays can be overwhelming, especially when something goes wrong. You have the right to ask questions, raise concerns, and seek answers without feeling difficult or demanding and you don’t have to prove something went wrong to seek answers.
This guide can help you organize what happened, prepare questions, and feel more informed and confident as you speak up and advocate for safer care. You don’t have to navigate this process alone.
I want my experience to prevent harm to someone else
Your experience matters and sharing what you've learned can help make care safer for others. When patients and families share what they have learned, they can help hospitals identify risks, improve safety practices, and prevent harm to others.
Hospitals have many systems in place to protect patients, but even good systems can be improved. When patients and families share what they see and experience, they can help hospitals identify risks, learn from what goes wrong, and create safer ways of providing care.
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The PSSM in plain language
The Patient Safety Structural Measure, or PSSM, is a CMS hospital quality measure focused on the systems and culture needed for safer care.
It asks hospitals to report whether they have implemented patient-safety practices across five areas:
- Leadership commitment to eliminating preventable harm
- Strategic planning and organizational policy
- Cultural safety and a learning health system
- Accountability and transparency
- Patient and family engagement
The PSSM does not tell the full story of safety at a hospital. It does give patients, families, hospital teams, and communities a shared vocabulary for asking whether essential safety structures are truly in place.
A note about urgent concerns
PFPS US provides education and advocacy resources. This page does not provide medical, legal, or emergency advice. For an urgent medical concern, contact the patient’s care team or emergency services. For questions about complaints, records, or legal rights, consider seeking appropriate professional guidance.
You deserve to be heard, and to have a meaningful role in safer care
Start with the resource that meets your needs today. When you are ready, the Guardians can help you connect your experience to broader patient-safety improvement.