An official website of the United States government
Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Patient Safety Structural Measure is an attestation-based measure to assess a hospital’s structure and culture in accordance with patient’s safety. The Patient Safety Structural Measure helps to identify hospitals that have a system and culture for patient safety.
Hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) and the Prospective Payment System (PPS)-Exempt Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting (PCHQR) Programs must complete the PSSM during the reporting time period.
Supporting Resources
CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure Resources can be reviewed and accessed from either the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program or PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospitals Quality Reporting (PCHQR) Program pages. Resources include:
- CMS Structural Measure Quick Reference Guide provides an overview of the PSSM reporting along with submission deadlines.
- CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure Specifications provides background information and defines the five domains and their corresponding attestation statements.
- CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure Attestation Guide provides examples and definitions of key PSSM concepts.
Please be sure to read the information on this page (updated frequently) before contacting the NHSN Help Desk with questions. If you still need assistance, please email nhsn@cdc.gov with subject line “Patient Safety Structural Measure”.
