Washington, D.C. - During Patient Safety Awareness Week, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Budget Committee Health Taskforce, and Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (D-CA) introduced the National Patient Safety Board Act. This bill will create a National Patient Safety Board (NPSB) that will work in reducing patient health risks in health care settings.

The NPSB will be a non-punitive, independent board within the Department of Health and Human Services that will work in collaboration with federal agencies to identify potential sources of harm, conduct patient studies, and recommend solutions to prevent future patient safety events. 

“Being a physician representative, I understand acutely the complex relationship between the government and a physicians’ practice,” said Congressman Burgess. “The National Patient Safety Board Act will establish an independent board that will work in collaboration with the various Department of Health and Human Services agencies to conduct patient safety studies by using non-punitive, technology integrated approaches to identify major sources of harmful patient safety events, and create recommendations to prevent those unfortunate events in the future. While you can’t legislate that a physician makes the right choices for each patients’ care, we should give them all the information they need to make those important choices. This bill will establish a meaningful bridge between stakeholders, patients, and federal agencies that will result in the improvement of the health care system in our nation.”

“We must ensure that our health care system continues to improve on the safety of patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers,” said Rep. Barragán. “This is an issue that disproportionately impacts people from marginalized communities, including communities of color. Every American deserves safe and quality health care. That’s why I am proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation alongside Dr. Burgess as a crucial step forward to ensure a collaborative, evidence-based, and modernized approach to improving patient safety across our country’s healthcare system.”

“It has been nearly 20 years since Congress passed the Patient Safety Quality and Improvement Act, legislation that has protected patients’ lives,” said James Gelfand, President and CEO of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). “ERIC and our large employer member companies support the need for an independent board that will use autonomous technology to avoid health care-related harm. We encourage Congress to advance the legislation to improve patient safety and protect patients.”

Background:

The National Patient Safety Board Act is endorsed by 93 members of the National Patient Safety Board Advocacy Coalition.

Every year, as many as 400,000 deaths occur as a result of medical errors or preventable harm.

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