Linking utilization management and patient safety.

URAC recently completed a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assess patient safety systems. URAC collected information from 31 separate UM companies. URAC also reviewed software capabilities from four commercial utilization management software vendors. This article describes how utilization management organizations use information technology and UM processes to systematically identify and manage potential patient safety problems. The study also identified research needs to promote future utilization management involvement in patient safety.