IHI Showcases New Human Factors Certification and Safer Together Recognition Program at Annual Patient Safety Congress

Health care leaders convene during Patient Safety Awareness Week to share, collaborate, and learn

The 2025 IHI Patient Safety Congress kicked off today, bringing together health care professionals, patient safety advocates, and learners from around the world in service of safer and more equitable care for all. The program began with the introduction of two new IHI initiatives: the industry’s first Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care certification and the IHI Safer Together Recognition Program.

For the first time, the IHI Patient Safety Congress is taking place during Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW), which is held annually to embrace and engage consumers and communities to raise awareness and activate engagement in the coproduction of safe care to improve patient safety. Mainstage sessions at this year’s Congress cover topics including AI, embedding safety into everyday work, meaningful patient engagement, leveraging clinical effectiveness, and many more. Deep dive sessions explore the pillars of the National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety, an initiative designed to enable a total systems approach to safety and reduced harm across the continuum of care.

Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care (CPHFH)

“IHI is expanding its portfolio of certifications this year, starting with a review course and credentialing exam focused on human factors in health care,” said Melissa Panagides-Busch, COO and Interim CEO of IHI, during her opening remarks at Congress. “This is an essential component of creating safer health care systems that serve both patients and the workforce. We’re very excited to launch the Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care program, which provides a unique opportunity for individuals to demonstrate their expertise in this area, and for organizations to validate the competencies of their workforce. We look forward to supporting every candidate on their journey to this first-of-its-kind certification.”

Human factors is a critical discipline that optimizes interactions between technology, environments, systems, and people to reduce risks in health care. Professionals earn the CPHFH certification by demonstrating a high level of proficiency in applying the core standards of human factors, systems thinking, and design to health care improvement.

The CPHFH credential is awarded after passing a comprehensive examination covering three key domains:

• Assess and Analyze – Evaluating and understanding human-system interactions to identify potential risks
• Design – Designing and implementing systems and processes that enhance safety and efficiency
• Improve and Monitor – Continuously refining and overseeing systems to ensure ongoing safety and sustainable effectiveness

The first review course to prepare participants for the CPHFH exam took place onsite at the IHI Patient Safety Congress, and a live review course webinar will be held March 18-19, 2025. More information about the CPHFH, including the benefits of certification and details about the review course and exam, are available here.

IHI Safer Together Recognition Program

“IHI’s new Safer Together Recognition Program will recognize and honor hospitals that implement strong systems and processes to improve both patient and workforce safety,” remarked Panagides-Busch. “This IHI acknowledgement will identify the beacons of safety in the health care world and serve as a statement of confidence for patients and the workforce.”

The IHI Safer Together Recognition Program honors hospitals that demonstrate significant safety readiness for patients and the workforce. Recognition is awarded through a combination of quantitative and qualitative assessments: organizations must meet or exceed a specific threshold using the Safer Together Self-Assessment Tool, which is aligned with the National Action Plan and the new CMS Patient Safety Structure Measure (PSSM). Assessments are evaluated by a panel of nationally recognized patient and workforce safety experts. The recognition is awarded in two tiers and is valid for two years.

Recognition from IHI is a reliable indicator for patients, health care workers, and the community that a hospital has attested to its leadership commitment to safety. Hospitals that have received this acknowledgement demonstrate the presence of structures and practices that support the delivery of safe, high quality, and effective care. More information about the program, including the process to participate, can be found here.

About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a leading, globally recognized not-for-profit health care improvement organization that has been applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to meet current and future health care challenges for more than 30 years. IHI provides millions of people in health care with methods, tools, and resources to make care better, safer, and more equitable; convenes experts to enable knowledge sharing and peer-learning; and advises health systems and hospitals of all sizes in improving their systems and outcomes at scale. IHI’s mission is to innovate and lead transformational improvement in health and health care worldwide.

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