Political Quotes

“I yield myself 3 minutes. It is tragic when Americans die prematurely despite modern medicine. It is heartbreaking when Americans die because of modern medicine. Medical errors take lives, medical errors waste money, and medical errors are largely preventable. Based on available data, medical errors kill up to 100,000 Americans every year. That number, for sure, is a ballpark estimate because we know that medical errors are underreported. That is disturbing, but hardly surprising. The reality is that the consequences of reporting medical errors can be onerous, which deters some who commit or witness medical errors from documenting them. This legislation is intended to overcome that obstacle. To reduce the number of medical errors, we need to understand what causes them and address those causes. Accurate and complete information on medical errors is the first step. H.R. 3205, or S. 544, creates a secure voluntary medical error reporting system. The system is carefully crafted to encourage information-sharing without undermining the ability of patients to obtain justice when they are harmed and to help the health care system identify the root causes of medical errors without hindering the prosecution of criminal acts. My friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), and I have been working on this legislation for several years. I appreciate his leadership on this issue, as well as that of the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.…”