Congress must finish work on patient safety

Lawmakers must embrace this historic opportunity to end the culture of blame that inhibits medical error reporting.

Editorial. Sept. 13, 2004.

As lawmakers arrive back in Washington, D.C., this month after Congress' summer break, they face a host of enormously weighty issues, from the ongoing war in Iraq to the work of setting next year's federal budget. This being a congressional election year, time is short.

In the coming frenzy, lawmakers must not forget a piece of legislation that has the power to impact every American at some point in their lives. Congress cannot let slip a golden opportunity to pass a patient safety bill. It is imperative that lawmakers approve a final version of this legislation and that President Bush sign it into law this year.

The House passed its patient safety bill last year, and the Senate approved its measure in July. But work still remains. Lawmakers must iron out differences between the two in a conference committee so that final passage can occur.

The overriding vision laid out in the measures, both called the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act, is on the mark. The effort to pass a final measure has the strong backing of not only the American Medical Association, but also dozens of state and specialty medical societies, hospital and other health care groups, and accreditation organizations.

The bills strike the proper balance between confidentiality and the need for accountability. The legislation accomplishes this by making medical error reporting voluntary and confidential, but at the same time maintaining injured patients' ability to hold the responsible parties accountable for their mistakes.