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New bill targets medical errors
Posted
2-14-2000 Washington. Senators Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced the Medical Error Reduction Act last week, the first bill attempting to address the problem of medical mistakes outlined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in November. The bill calls for 15 separate demonstration projects to test how best to gather information on medical errors. The IOM report, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," showed that medical errors kill 44,000 to 98,000 people each year. Under the bill, five of the demonstration projects, which would take place at hospitals selected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, would require that mistakes be reported and that those reports be kept confidential. Five other projects would have voluntary reporting with information kept confidential, and five would have mandatory reporting with patients and families informed of medical mistakes made in their care. "We're determined to get these errors reported," said Specter, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Department of Health and Human Services. Trying different approaches could isolate what will work best, he said. The bill also calls for the demonstration projects to test technological and other ways to reduce errors. "We know we have the technical expertise to cut down on this drastically," said Harkin, who mentioned such innovations as computerized drug records to prevent negative interactions. "We just haven't implemented it." The bill is expected to be the first of several pieces of legislation on a top-tier health issue for lawmakers. The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which has primary jurisdiction in the Senate over the matter, is expected to hold its third hearing on the issue the week of Feb. 22. That hearing will examine recommendations from the Clinton administration, which will forthcoming shortly, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala said.
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