Proposed board would study safety events and recommend prevention

The proposal would establish an independent National Patient Safety Board within the Department of Health and Human Services. The Board would focus on events in health care that cause harm, could cause harm, or might have caused harm but for chance or prevention. The President would appoint five members; at least three would need patient safety or high-risk industry experience, and at least two would represent people affected by a patient safety event or their families. The text does not state when the Board would begin work.

The Board's divisions would collect and study safety information, issue public reports, and recommend responses. Patients, health care workers, and anyone else could report events. Studies could examine patterns, including disparities, in health care settings. People could report events anonymously or by name. HHS and Veterans Affairs must provide requested data, while other public and private organizations could choose to share data through agreements. The Board must protect private information and may not publish details that identify a patient, provider, or care setting. The Board may require further studies or report revisions, and may hold hearings. The Board must make each study report public within one year after the study begins. HHS and Veterans Affairs must publish a response within 90 days after the final recommendations report is submitted to the Board.

The proposal would limit some uses of Board work and protect employees who cooperate. These limits concern Board work on patient safety events and employees who cooperate with the Board. Board reports and other publications generally could not be used as evidence of individual or organizational liability in civil damages cases, but this limit does not cover data collected or held outside the Board. HHS could not use Board work to punish a health care provider. The Board could not decide anyone's rights or liabilities, but its reports could inform care standards. Employees who cooperate may not be fired or discriminated against for doing so.