ACP Urges House to Approve the "Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act" (H.R. 3205)
July 25, 2005
Letter faxed to entire House of Representatives
The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Speaker:
On behalf of the 119,000 members of the American College of Physicians (ACP), I am writing to urge the House of Representatives to approve the “Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act”(H.R. 3205). ACP is the largest medical specialty society in the United States and the second largest physician membership organization. We believe that this bill will make a significant contribution to improving the quality of medical care in this country.
ACP supports the bill’s privilege and confidentiality protections that encourage providers, patients and other stakeholders to participate in patient safety reporting systems. At the same time, the bill does not restrict an individual’s right to judicial or administrative remedies. The legislation makes it clear what qualifies as patient safety data and therefore what is not discoverable in litigation; it does not interfere with obtaining information otherwise available.
The bill calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to certify the organizations that qualify as “patient safety organizations.” We support a very strong role for the department in developing uniform ways to collect information that maximize the usefulness of the information provided and the development of a national data base of non-identifiable information that will lead to solutions to safety problems.
The educational and non-punitive environment created by this bill will encourage reports throughout the system. Some of the most important information will be derived from reports of “near misses,” those events that do not result in harm to the patient but could contribute significantly to the prevention of avoidable injuries or death in the future. The collection and analysis of non-identifiable data on a national basis are also important components of a system to improve patient safety.
ACP ethical principles require physicians to report any procedural or judgment errors to their patients that affect their well-being. This principle requires reporting in instances that do not necessarily involve improper, negligent, or unethical behavior. Even if there is complete adherence to this tenet, there is still a need for uniform reporting systems to generate clear and consistent reports.
The passage of H.R. 3205 will enhance considerably the progress we can make in patient safety and quality improvement in the coming years.
Sincerely,
C. Anderson Hedberg
President
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