Senators Clinton and Obama Introduce Legislation to Increase Patient Safety, Reduce Medical Errors and Malpractice Costs
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Printable FormatFor Immediate Release
September 28, 2005
Contacts:
Clinton Press Office, (202) 224-2243
Obama Press Office, Tommy Vietor or Robert Gibbs, (202) 228-5511
Senators Clinton and Obama Introduce Legislation to Increase Patient Safety, Reduce Medical Errors and Malpractice Costs
Washington, DC - With medical errors resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths every year and physicians shouldering escalating malpractice premium costs, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) and Barack Obama (IL) today introduced legislation that takes a novel approach to improving patient safety and the quality of health care while protecting patients' rights, reducing medical errors and lowering malpractice costs. The National Medical Error Disclosure and Compensation (MEDiC) Act will encourage physicians, hospitals and health systems to adopt an innovative model that provides liability protections for physicians who disclose medical errors to patients and offer to enter into negotiations for fair compensation.
"Patients and physicians are paying the price for a health care system that discourages the kind of communication needed to find and correct the conditions that lead to medical errors," said Senator Clinton. "We need to do everything we can to put patient safety first and bring a fresh approach to the table. That's why I am introducing legislation that will provide incentives for doctors, hospitals and health systems to create a culture of safety that will reduce medical errors and lower malpractice costs."
"Across America, hospitals and medical providers are proving that there's a better way to protect patients and doctors, all while raising the quality of our care and lowering its cost," said Obama. "This legislation will help reduce medical error rates and medical malpractice costs by opening the lines of communication between doctors and patients - encouraging honesty and accountability in the process and most importantly improving care."
In an attempt to reduce deaths and injuries due to medical errors, address the inconsistency of the medical liability system in determining negligence and compensating patients, and reduce soaring medical liability costs, a number of hospital systems and private liability insurance companies around the country have adopted a policy of robust disclosure of medical errors with thorough analysis and intervention, apologies for such errors and early compensation for patient injury. Overall, these policies have resulted in greater patient trust and satisfaction, more patients being compensated for injuries, fewer numbers of malpractice suits being filed and significantly reduced administrative and legal defense costs for providers, insurers and hospitals where such policies are in place.
The National MEDiC program will build on these efforts underway at the local level by encouraging adoption of this model across the country and providing grant money and technical assistance for doctors, hospitals, and health systems to help them implement the program. The MEDiC program will be administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.