1.This Act may be cited as the
Medical Checklist Act of
2011
.
2.Research into
medical checklist development and efficacy
(a)The
Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, acting through the
Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, shall conduct research and a
study, in accordance with the requirements of this section, regarding the
development and efficacy of medical checklists.
(b)In
carrying out subsection (a), the Director shall conduct research and a study
regarding the following:
(1)Testing of
different models of medical checklists to measure the effect of checklist
format, length, and design for different clinical tasks on—
(A)adoption of
checklists by health care professionals;
(B)time spent by
health care professionals on the clinical task of interest; and
(C)reliable
completion of health care procedures.
(2)Examination of
checklist development and use in other industries, such as commercial aviation
and nuclear power, and the feasibility of applying and adapting methodology
developed in those industries to the health care industry in a way that would
result in health care quality improvement.
(3)Identification of
organizational characteristics needed to effectively implement the use of
medical checklists in health care settings.
(4)Measurement of the
effects of the use of medical checklists on patient safety and health
outcomes.
(5)Identification of
health care procedures for which the development and use of medical checklists
would be beneficial.
(6)Investigation of
the development, implementation, and use of available medical checklists,
including checklists for safe surgery and central line insertion and
maintenance, to inform further medical checklist development.
(c)The
Director shall ensure that each aspect of the research and study conducted
under subsection (a) is examined across a variety of health care provider
characteristics, medical procedures, patient populations, and other factors
that could affect the use of medical checklists.
(d)The
Director shall make available to the public the results of the study conducted
under subsection (a) and shall disseminate such results to patient safety
organizations listed pursuant to section 924(d) of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 299b–24(d)).
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012
through 2015.
3.Coordinating
medical checklists and health information technology systems
(a)The HIT Policy Committee in the Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology (as established in section 3002
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj–12)) shall develop policy
recommendations regarding—
(1)the extent to
which the use of medical checklists should be incorporated into health
information technology systems; and
(2)measures to
determine the effectiveness of such use.
(b)In making recommendations under subsection (a), the
HIT Policy Committee may consider the following areas:
(1)The ease with
which medical checklists in electronic formats can be used by health care
professionals.
(2)The effect of the
availability of medical checklists in electronic formats on the adoption and
use of medical checklists by health care professionals.
(3)The effect of the
use of medical checklists in electronic formats on the time spent by health
care professionals on medical procedures.
(4)The ability of the
health information technology system to collect data on patient safety and
health outcomes that could be analyzed to aid in the design and update of
medical checklists.
(5)The ease with
which medical checklists in electronic formats can be updated on an ongoing
basis based on evidence from medical research and local experience.
(6)The capability of
health information technology systems to collect data, where applicable,
regarding the use of medical checklists by health care clinicians and
providers, and any relation between that use and patient safety and health
outcomes.
4.Institute of
medicine study on further medical checklist research
(a)The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter
into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of
Engineering of the National Academies to conduct a study in accordance with
this section.
(b)The
Secretary shall ensure that the study conducted under this section—
(1)reviews available
medical checklists and similar quality improvement techniques, data on the
adoption and use of such techniques by health care professionals, and evidence
of the efficacy of such techniques in relation to patient safety and health
outcomes;
(2)identifies areas
of research needed to improve medical checklists in order to increase the
adoption and efficacy of medical checklists;
(3)analyzes
organizational impediments to the adoption and use of medical
checklists;
(4)reviews the degree
to which there is sufficient evidence with which to develop new medical
checklists and, if such evidence is insufficient, identifies areas requiring
further study in order to develop such evidence; and
(5)determines whether
the availability of an increased number of medical checklists would improve
patient safety and health outcomes and, if so, identifies methods for using
recent medical research to develop new medical checklists.
(c)
(1)The
Secretary shall ensure that the agreement entered into under subsection (a)
provides that the study conducted under such subsection will consider the
perspectives of—
(A)various types of
health care professionals in various types of health care settings;
(B)individuals
conducting academic research in health care quality; and
(C)patients.
(2)Consultation
with relevant organizationsThe Secretary shall ensure that the
agreement entered into under subsection (a) provides that relevant agencies and
organizations with expertise on medical checklists will be consulted during the
study conducted under such subsection, including the following:
(A)The Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality.
(B)The American
Nurses Association.
(C)The Institute for
Healthcare Improvement.
(D)The American
Hospital Association.
(E)The American
Medical Association.
(F)The World Health
Organization.
(G)The National
Committee for Quality Assurance.
(H)The Joint
Commission.
(I)The American
Academy of Physician Assistants.
(d)The
Secretary shall ensure that the agreement entered into under subsection (a)
provides that not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
Act, a report providing the findings and recommendations made in the study
conducted under such subsection will be submitted to the Secretary, the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
5.In this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1)The term health care professional means
an individual who provides health care services, including a physician,
physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist (as those
terms are defined in section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x)), and such other individuals as the Secretary of Health and Human
Services determines appropriate.
(2)The term health care setting means a
facility at which health care services are provided, including a hospital
providing inpatient hospital services (as that term is defined in section 1861
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x)), an ambulatory surgical center
(meeting the standards specified under section 1832(a)(2)(F)(i) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395k)), and such other settings as the Secretary of
Health and Human Services determines appropriate.
(3)The term health care provider means a
health care professional or a health care setting.
(4)The term medical checklist means a
predetermined, evidence-based, well-defined set of steps that should be
completed during a designated medical clinical encounter or medical procedure,
as further defined by the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality in consultation with the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy
of Engineering of the National Academies.