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House passes national error-reporting bill

Quality Improvement Monitor, July 28, 2005

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a national error-reporting system and sent the bill to President Bush for his approval.

The bill, overwhelmingly approved 428-3, would allow healthcare professionals to voluntarily report medical errors to patient safety organizations, which would use a network of computer databases to analyze the information and make recommendations on ways to improve care, The Associated Press reported. Information would be kept confidential, limiting discoverability for lawsuits.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the data collection system will cost about $58 million over the next five years. Both the House and Senate approved similar legislation last year, but the congressional session ended before a conference committee could reconcile differences in the two bills.

The House and Senate bills are identical this time around. The Senate approved the legislation last week.

Both the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association have supported the measure. Estimates say more than 250 Americans die every day as a result of preventable medical errors, the AP reported.

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