Patient safety is an area in which physicians are being held accountable, including by assessment to improve the quality and safety of patient care. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology has announced that beginning in 2016, physicians who pass a certification or maintenance of certification (MOC) examination will be required to complete an approved Patient Safety Course up to three years prior to board certification or recertification or in
their first continuous MOC block. As part of its mission to provide MOC review, Focus offers this column to provide expert commentary in the area of safety standards, with a focus on those most relevant to psychiatry.