Statement: Burgess Puts Patient Safety First

Statement: Burgess Puts Patient Safety First

WASHINGTON, DC, Jul 27 - Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess (TX-26) voted for the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (S. 544) designed to encourage the anonymous reporting of errors to newly-created patient safety organizations, which will analyze the information and, working with doctors, identify the changes necessary to prevent these errors. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 428 to 3. The bill passed the Senate by a voice vote on Thursday, July, 21, 2005.

The following statement may be attributed to Congressman Michael C. Burgess:

"Medical errors are an unfortunate aspect to the delivery of modern health care. The bill uniquely combines a non-punitive backdrop where doctors can share information with patient safety specialist who monitor and look for solutions and improvements of the system. All information will continue to be available to the public and consumer organizations will receive information on medical errors, trends and other details concerning medical mistakes reported."

"The litigious environment that doctors and patient live in today serve neither well. This bill will increase transparency in medicine, encourage reporting, and assist in targeted quality improvements."

"I'm very pleased that the House and Senate were able to work out differences on this important legislation and clear the way for President Bush to sign it into law."

http://burgess.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=31432