Number: RL31983
Title: Health Care Quality: Improving Patient Safety by Promoting Medical Errors Reporting
Authors: C. Stephen Redhead, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: This report provides an overview and some analysis of medical errors reporting and the House and Senate patient safety bills. It begins with background information on the nature and causes of medical errors, followed by a brief comparison of the differences between mandatory and voluntary reporting systems. The report then discusses some of the legal and policy issues facing state mandatory reporting systems and major national voluntary reporting systems, and identifies design features of effective reporting programs. It concludes with a discussion and side-byside comparison of H.R. 663 and S. 544.
Pages: 31
Date: March 24, 2005