Patient safety legislation -- an urgent call to action

AMA Leader Commentary. By Donald J. Palmisano, MD, May 17, 2004.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA President Donald J. Palmisano, MD.

Almost a year ago, on June 18, I said in my inaugural address: "Do your homework. Have courage. And don't give up." Now my journey as AMA president nears its end. Although this will be my last column, it certainly won't be the last time I call upon the Federation of Medicine to act on behalf of our patients and our profession.

The AMA's No. 1 legislative priority is to bring common sense to the medical liability system. We continue to be relentless in that pursuit. A critical corollary is to bring forth a system that will enhance patient safety. We now have the opportunity to improve the prospect for the greater safety for our patients through legislation that is under discussion in Congress.

On March 12 last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed -- by more than 400 votes -- HR 663, the "Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act."

This legislation would create a confidential, voluntary reporting system that physicians and other health care professionals could use to report information on errors to groups known as patient safety organizations. The PSO would collect and analyze unique patient safety data, provide feedback on patient safety improvement strategies and disseminate the lessons learned to all in medicine.

The Senate companion bill, S 720, unanimously passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in July 2003. It's a bipartisan bill, with support from both the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD (R, Tenn.) and bill co-sponsor, Sen. John Breaux (D, La.). Yet when the Senate leadership tried to bring up the bill under a unanimous consent request last month, Minority Whip Sen. Harry Reid (D, Nev.) objected because his Democratic colleagues wanted more time to study the bill.

We are hard pressed to understand why the Senate is having such a difficult time passing legislation to improve patient care.