[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 158 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 158

Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Patient Safety 
                            Awareness Week.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2011

 Mr. Israel submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Patient Safety 
                            Awareness Week.

Whereas patient safety is the freedom from accidental injury due to medical care 
        or medical errors and is vital to high quality medical care;
Whereas the landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine study ``To Err is Human'' helped 
        launch the patient safety movement by reporting that medical errors lead 
        to the deaths of as many as 98,000 people each year and that medical 
        errors relating to hospitalization cost between $17,000,000,000 and 
        $29,000,000,000 annually;
Whereas the Nation has made important progress in raising patient safety 
        awareness since the release of such study, including developing 
        reporting systems and establishing national data collection standards;
Whereas the National Patient Safety Foundation has recognized, endorsed, and 
        encouraged the celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week since the 
        week was first established in 2002, to bring attention to the issue of 
        medical error and to engage providers, patients, and communities in 
        efforts to improve the safety of healthcare in America;
Whereas, each year since 2003, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
        has published the National Healthcare Quality Report built on more than 
        200 measures categorized across four dimensions of quality, including 
        patient safety;
Whereas, in 2004, the World Health Organization formed the World Alliance for 
        Patient Safety which aims to coordinate, disseminate, and accelerate 
        improvements in patient safety worldwide;
Whereas the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act was signed into law on 
        July 29, 2005, to improve patient safety by encouraging voluntary and 
        confidential reporting of events that adversely affect patients;
Whereas there are now 80 Patient Safety Organizations nationwide listed by the 
        Department of Health and Human Services;
Whereas the number of States with medical error reporting systems has nearly 
        doubled since 2000, with 27 States now requiring hospitals to report the 
        occurrence of ``never events'', or those adverse events that are serious 
        and largely preventable;
Whereas the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid initiated its hospital-acquired 
        condition policy in 2008, refusing to cover the costs of conditions that 
        were acquired in the hospital and that could reasonably have been 
        prevented, marking the first use of the payment system to promote 
        patient safety;
Whereas the goal of patient safety is yet to be fully achieved, and still 
        ``merits urgent attention'', according to the 2009 National Healthcare 
        Quality Report;
Whereas the 2008 National Healthcare Quality Report found that approximately 1 
        out of 7 adult hospitalized Medicare patients experienced 1 or more 
        adverse events;
Whereas infections acquired during hospital care are serious patient safety 
        concerns, and among the most common complications of hospital care;
Whereas research has demonstrated that hospital-acquired infections and medical 
        errors can be reduced and that lives can be saved through the 
        appropriate timing of antibiotic delivery among surgical patients, the 
        proper placement of central venous catheters, the establishment of a 
        culture of safety, and other practical interventions, such as the use of 
        checklists;
Whereas healthcare providers are committed to a collaborative, meaningful, long-
        term approach to ensure greater patient safety in the delivery of 
        healthcare in our Nation and to continually advancing efforts to improve 
        patient safety through the development and promotion of communication 
        tools for safer healthcare and the use of quality measures based on 
        evidence-based guidelines;
Whereas the goals and ideals of Patient Safety Awareness Week are to focus 
        attention on the need to improve the safety of medical care, recognize 
        the safety innovations generated by frontline medical staff, celebrate 
        patient safety successes, encourage the medical community to adopt best 
        practices that increase patient safety, encourage patients to learn 
        approaches to improve the safety of their healthcare, promote research 
        to identify effective solutions to patient safety-related problems, and 
        to acknowledge those individuals who have dedicated their time and 
        talent to help promote patient safety; and
Whereas the patient safety community recognizes and celebrates National Patient 
        Safety Awareness Week during the second week in March every calendar 
        year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Patient 
        Safety Awareness Week;
            (2) encourages the President to issue a proclamation in 
        support of the goals and ideals of National Patient Safety 
        Awareness Week;
            (3) encourages States, localities territories, and 
        possessions of the United States to support the goals and 
        ideals of National Patient Safety Awareness Week by issuing 
        proclamations designating National Patient Safety Awareness 
        Week;
            (4) encourages the continuation and acceleration of private 
        sector efforts to take immediate steps to improve patient 
        safety and recognizes the need for action in the public sector 
        to complement these efforts; and
            (5) recognizes and reaffirms the Nation's commitment to 
        promoting patient safety through education programs, supporting 
        research, and expanding access to safe medical treatment.
                                 <all>