Voluntary Error Reduction and Improvement in Patient Safety Act
Requires the Director to establish a: (1) National Patient Safety Reporting System, allowing any individual or entity to report an adverse patient safety event; and (2) National Patient Safety Surveillance System, allowing health care organizations to submit reports of adverse patient safety events, event analyses, and corrective actions taken. Requires the confidentiality of information gathered through either System.
Requires the Director to establish Centers of Patient Safety Improvement to conduct research on medical errors and interventions or strategies to reduce such errors.
Prohibits a health care organization from discharging or otherwise discriminating against a worker providing information to either of the Systems or disclosing patient care information to an appropriate regulatory agency, accrediting body, or organization management personnel. Provides for enforcement through the Secretary of Labor.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement within the Department of Health and Human Services a medical care best-practices process. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to develop: (1) a process for determining which best practices to apply to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; and (2) measures to rate Program plans on patient safety improvement activities.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.