Conducting Safety Research Safely: A Policy-Based Approach for Conducting Research with Peer Review Protected Material

A multidisciplinary team developed a policy-based approach that provides guidance for using peer review protected information for safety research while maintaining peer review privilege. The approach includes project approval by an ad hoc review committee, signed confidentiality agreements by investigators and study staff, early removal of case identification numbers, standards for maintaining data security, and publication of aggregate data without data set sharing. By describing this procedure and embedding into an institutional policy on Data for Performance Improvement, the team encourages other institutions to develop similar policies consistent with their state regulations.