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The Florida Patient Safety Corporation operated until May 2009, when its enabling statute was repealed at the corporation’s request. Since 2004 the FPSC had followed its legislative mandate to establish itself as a working entity. It had acquired preliminary certification as a PSO from the AHRQ and gotten the Near Miss Reporting System (NMRS) up and running. However, part of its establishing legislation required it to obtain grants and other private funding in order to fully support itself. It was never able to do so; and, in fact, the FPSC believed that some funding should always come from the state as a show of support for its mission. State funding for the FPSC ended after the 2007–2008 fiscal year and the first casualty was the NMRS. Although senate committee recommendations had been to continue the corporation and extend the exceptions allowing confidentiality of reports, it was unclear how the latter would fit with the Florida Supreme Court decisions regarding Amendment 7. On January 29, 2009, the FPSC “Board of Directors voted to seek repeal of the statutes establishing the corporation and this was accomplished in May 2009 (Florida House, 2009; Florida Legislature, 2006; Florida Senate, 2007, 2008, 2009; Florida Statutes, 2009). Reports in the Florida media in 2011 suggested the system remained in a state of paralysis, in part due to conflicts, or perceived conflicts, between state and federal laws and in part because of the apparent refusal of some hospitals to make available reports of adverse events; however, the situation is extremely complex and the issues and laws vary depending on who is requesting what information and for what reasons. The Florida General Counsel’s Office, on July 1, 2008, provided notice to risk managers throughout the state that information reported to the AHCA under state law was exempt from the mandates of Amendment 7; for PSOs, such as the Patient Safety Organization of Florida, Inc., formed in 2009, federal law supersedes state law in providing confidentiality for records (CBS, 2011; Florida General Counsel, 2008; PSOFlorida, 2009; Rosenfeld, 2008). What information is currently publicly available (January 2014) adds little new to this situation. Healthcare workers would be well advised to keep abreast of the news, as it may apply to them, and to be knowledgeable of their facility’s policies and procedures concerning medical errors prevention and reporting. In 2008 the Florida Patient Safety Corporation officially endorsed a private program called “Sorry Works!” as an effective method for addressing medical errors. The goal of the program, which is still in operation, is to establish a process that involves an initial disclosure, close contact with the patient and family, and a resolution that includes open communication. The main points are to disclose and compensate quickly when an error has occurred, vigorously defend medically appropriate care, and learn from mistakes (PSQH, 2008). According to the Sorry Works! website, Florida is one of 36 states with an “apology law” on the books, but these vary widely from state to state. For more information visit: www.sorryworks.net (SorryWorks!, 2014).

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