Arlen Specter: “on behalf of Senator Harkin and myself, I am introducing legislation captioned the Medical Error Reduction Act of 2000.…”

“on behalf of Senator Harkin and myself, I am introducing legislation captioned the Medical Error Reduction Act of 2000. This legislation is introduced in response to a report from the Institute of Medicine which shows a very high death rate as a result of errors in hospitals. The statistics show that the death rate from errors in hospitals may be as high as 98,000 people. A chart has been prepared demonstrating that at the 98,000 figure, which is the uppermost estimate, medical errors are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, problems which certainly need to be addressed. The legislation we are proposing follows a hearing which our Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education conducted on December 13, 1999, and also a hearing conducted on January 25, 2000, in conjunction with the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Our legislation has input--not support, but input--taking into account concerns from the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the American Psychological Association, and others. The core provisions of the bill will provide for 15 competitively awarded research demonstration projects to make a determination of the scope of medical errors and the ways to correct these medical errors systemically. Five of these demonstrations will have a mandatory reporting requirement with confidentiality when there is a medical error.”