House passes patient safety bill; voluntary reporting key

The legislation would create a confidential medical error tracking system that is attractive to physicians and patients.

By Joel B. Finkelstein, AMNews staff. April 7, 2003.

Washington -- Patient safety legislation passed by the House promises to allow physicians to report medical errors without risking being punished based on the information they provide.

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act contains several provisions designed to create a national error-reporting system to collect, assess and recommend changes to avoid future errors. Reporting would be voluntary under the legislation.

Information generated by this voluntary reporting would be considered confidential and would not be used to bring legal actions against doctors or hospitals. The bill also would prohibit the use of the information as evidence in civil or administrative proceedings or for accreditation purposes.

"Research on patient safety unequivocally calls for a learning environment, where providers will feel safe to report health care errors, in order to improve patient safety," the bill's authors stated. They also noted that the Institute of Medicine report on medical errors recommended a voluntary system because it would be more conducive to learning.

Rep. Mike Bilirakis (R, Fla.), the bill's main sponsor, said it would allow the medical community to "examine the underlying causes of medical errors, current practices and potential solutions."

The measure gained momentum recently because of publicity surrounding the tragic organ transplant error at North Carolina's Duke University, and because it is being viewed as a companion piece to liability reform legislation making its way through Congress.