Specialty Doctors Support Action on Patient Safety
Posted on: Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 18:00 CDT
WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alliance of Specialty Medicine issued the following statement regarding the House of Representatives passage today of patient safety legislation (HR 3205). The legislation reflects negotiations between House and Senate leaders from both parties. It was passed by the full US Senate last week and is likely to proceed to the President for signature without conference.
"The Alliance of Specialty Medicine believes that widespread sharing of best practices and information on adverse events by medical professionals will go a long way toward ensuring the delivery of consistent, quality medical care to all patients. As Congress considers adding data reporting and quality measurement components to the Medicare physician payment system, this legislation becomes more important than ever. Only with assurances that patient data will be protected by law will doctors be able to report clinical quality information with confidence and accuracy.
This legislation has broad bipartisan support and will greatly benefit patients and health care professionals. By asking physicians and related medical personnel to share patient safety data in a voluntary and confidential manner, a rich repository of information can be analyzed by appropriate quality improvement organizations and shared among health care workers nationwide. The legislation promises to create an environment that encourages health professionals to develop data-driven safety systems that improve upon their experiences, without simultaneously creating a climate of blame and retribution. The legislation will result in a fuller understanding of the most appropriate processes and techniques that consistently produce quality medical outcomes. Once signed, the Alliance of Specialty Medicine stands ready to help ensure a swift and thorough adoption by America's specialty doctors."
- Sidney Levitsky, M.D. President, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Chair, Patient Safety Working Group, Alliance of Specialty Medicine
The Alliance of Specialty Medicine is a non-partisan group based in Washington, DC, dedicated to the development of sound federal healthcare policy that fosters patient access to the highest quality specialty care. Among the Alliance's top policy priorities are advancing reforms of the nation's medical liability system, reforming the Medicare program to ensure the greatest access to care for seniors, and ensuring patients have access to the highest quality healthcare, in part by ensuring that effective patient safety measures are in place.
Alliance of Specialty Medicine
CONTACT: Mike Warner, +1-202-745-5109, or Barbara Peck, +1-202-628-2072,both for the Alliance of Specialty Medicine
Web site: http://www.specialtydocs.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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