HHS funds a sound investment to improve patient safety

The patient safety movement receives a much needed injection of cash from the federal government.

Editorial. Dec. 3, 2001.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's recent release of $50 million for patient safety research and programs marks a very welcome development for this still-new field of study, one that deserves all the encouragement it can get.

Just as striking as the dollar amount committed is the number of projects that the money will support. All told, 94 grants and projects were funded through the HHS's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. They focus on a wide-ranging set of topics, such as reporting of errors, the use of computers, the impact of working conditions, and the dissemination of research results.

Among the recipients is the AMA-founded National Patient Safety Foundation. The NPSF will use the nearly $250,000 it was awarded this year to begin development on Web-based patient safety education projects. This funding, and another AHRQ grant in which they share, are further validation of the NPSF's work as a pioneer in its field.

The need to look upon patient safety from a systems approach -- rather than a personal and punitive model -- is already widely recognized in the patient safety movement. Building on that simple foundation is the expensive part, requiring development of specific strategies and implementing them. These 94 projects suggest the scope of complexity involved, and $50 million represents a good start, but expect much more money and effort to be needed if the promise of the patient safety movement is to become reality. [...]