Bethany Higgins, administrator of the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, has opposed two Senate bills that aim to increase patient safety, according to a news report by The Lund Report.
Senate bill 207 aims to create a hotline and web portal for hospital patients to report serious medical errors or adverse events, and senate bill 236 aims to require hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to participate in the Commission's adverse event reporting program.
Ms. Higgins is joined by other legislators, who believe the proposed legislation, particularly mandated reporting, would not produce the results that proponents of the bill seek, such as higher levels of reporting. "After researching the other 26 states' reporting systems with a mandatory requirement, we have not seen sufficient evidence of greater participation or reporting of adverse events in those states," Ms. Higgins said.
In regards to a hotline and web portal for patient reporting of adverse events, Ms. Higgins said such a system is already in place and creating a new hotline would be unnecessary and costly. Currently, patients take their adverse events to the Public Health Divisions' Health Care Regulation and Quality Improvement Program for investigation, according to the news report.
Read the news report about Ms. Bethany Higgins' opposition to mandatory reporting.
Read other coverage about adverse event reporting:
- Patient Safety Tool: Guide to Increasing Reporting of Potential Medical Errors
- APIC Responds to Published Study on Surveillance for Public Reporting of Bloodstream Infection Rates
Senate bill 207 aims to create a hotline and web portal for hospital patients to report serious medical errors or adverse events, and senate bill 236 aims to require hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to participate in the Commission's adverse event reporting program.
Ms. Higgins is joined by other legislators, who believe the proposed legislation, particularly mandated reporting, would not produce the results that proponents of the bill seek, such as higher levels of reporting. "After researching the other 26 states' reporting systems with a mandatory requirement, we have not seen sufficient evidence of greater participation or reporting of adverse events in those states," Ms. Higgins said.
In regards to a hotline and web portal for patient reporting of adverse events, Ms. Higgins said such a system is already in place and creating a new hotline would be unnecessary and costly. Currently, patients take their adverse events to the Public Health Divisions' Health Care Regulation and Quality Improvement Program for investigation, according to the news report.
Read the news report about Ms. Bethany Higgins' opposition to mandatory reporting.
Read other coverage about adverse event reporting:
- Patient Safety Tool: Guide to Increasing Reporting of Potential Medical Errors
- APIC Responds to Published Study on Surveillance for Public Reporting of Bloodstream Infection Rates