[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 100 (Thursday, July 21, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H6208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       INCREASING PATIENT SAFETY

  (Mr. MURPHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, last week new data was released in 
Pennsylvania which found more than 11,000 patients acquired infections 
that resulted in 1,500 deaths and $2 billion in additional charges. 
These are new numbers for only one State and are almost half of the 
previous estimate for infection costs nationwide where tens of 
thousands of deaths and tens of billions of dollars are spent on 
infections and errors.
  When staff are encouraged to immediately report safety concerns, it 
saves lives and money. For example, at Allegheny General Hospital in 
Pittsburgh, when staff were encouraged to bring attention to medical 
staff errors, it resulted in a 90 percent decrease in infections and 
half a million dollars in savings annually just in intensive care 
units.
  Congress owes it to the American people to improve the quality of 
health care in this country. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement 
Act, of which I am a cosponsor, will increase legal protections for 
providers who disclose errors and a step in the right direction towards 
achieving this goal.
  I would urge my colleagues to visit my Web site at Murphy.house.gov 
to learn more about improving errors and improving patient safety.

                          ____________________