Strengthening diagnostic error research and training can lead to sustained diagnostic improvement. Expanding upon legislation introduced in 2020, the “Improving Diagnosis in Medicine Act of 2022” would establish research centers of diagnostic excellence, an interagency council on improving diagnosis in healthcare, and fellowship and training grants in diagnostic safety, as well as convene an expert panel on diagnostic error measurement and data collection and prioritize stakeholder engagement across all activities.

Reporting clinicians who exhibit practice behaviors that are detrimental to safety is challenged by system and cultural norms. This legislation aims to strengthen the US Veterans Health System process for identifying problematic clinicians by underscoring the importance of reporting to a national system that tracks these instances.

The strengthening of diagnostic error research and processes can strategically ensure lasting diagnostic improvement. The ‘‘Improving Diagnosis in Medicine Act of 2020’’ outlines characteristics of a proposed Federal program to enhance agency cooperation and coordination to improve diagnosis in health care by addressing systemic weaknesses, knowledge gaps, and training issues in the workforce.

This bill submits amendments to existing US federal law to strengthen state-organized efforts to improve health care-associated infection control efforts, pediatric safety initiatives, care transitions, reporting systems and antimicrobial stewardship programs.

This legislation aims to strengthen the US Veterans Health System by requiring reports on the quality of care and patient safety issues at VA medical centers.

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) provides federal protection of adverse event reports voluntarily submitted to patient safety organizations in an effort to enable disclosure and subsequent discussion of error to enhance learning from errors. This case tested the ability of the federal law to block access to such reports when conflicting with state laws in Florida. The court found that PSQIA provided appropriate protection for the records.

The Veterans Affairs (VA) health system has both achieved success and struggled to provide safe care to its patients. In an effort to address shortcomings in care, this bill allocates additional funding to the VA. Goals of this legislation include regulating and improving staffing levels, enabling veterans to access non-VA facilities, and enhancing patient access to telemedicine.

This bill requires that Pennsylvania hospitals and nursing homes implement an internal infection control plan and report hospital-acquired infections.

This bill amends a previous law by requiring that serious preventable adverse events be reported to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and that a list of these errors and where they occurred be publicly available.

This act establishes a process for the National Health Service to handle small claims from medical mistakes without litigation.

This bill, introduced to the Senate by Senators Clinton (D-NY) and Obama (D-IL), proposes a program under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to a) require hospitals to disclose errors to patients and offer reasonable financial settlements where appropriate; b) create a national patient safety database, comprised of confidential reports from health care institutions; and c) protect any statements about and apologies for errors that providers make to patients from being used in a later malpractice action.

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to encourage a culture of safety in health care organizations. The bill, signed into law July 29, 2005, provides legal protection of information voluntarily reported to patient safety organizations (PSOs). This protection helps encourage institutions and individuals to more freely report incidents, concerns, and near misses. PSOs can receive reports on quality and safety from any health care provider, including hospitals, doctors' offices, nursing homes, and ambulatory surgery centers. The federal government has developed and maintains the voluntary reporting system, working with PSOs to analyze data submitted through the system. An annual quality report is released based on this analysis. Dr. William B. Munier discussed the development and implementation of PSOs in an AHRQ WebM&M interview.

This bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to encourage alternatives to the current medical malpractice system (by creating a "health care court") and to promote early disclosure and resolution of medical errors.

This bill calls for a prohibition of mandatory overtime and limiting the work week to 12 hours a day or 60 hours a week for non-supervisory health care employees in Pennsylvania.  It is presently under consideration by Pennsylvania's General Assembly.

This bill, which garnered bipartisan support, proposes developing health information technology networks (known as "Regional Health Information Organizations," or RHIOs) with a strong focus on state- and community-based efforts.  It is presently under consideration in the United States House of Representatives.

Also known as the Quality, Efficiency, Standards and Technology for Health Care Transformation Act of 2004, this legislation seeks to guide the development of a national information infrastructure.

This addition to the Washington Patient Safety Act requires hospitals to develop and implement a staffing plan for nursing services. The plan addresses personnel issues for each patient care unit, requires hospitals to maintain records regarding patients and nursing care personnel, and authorizes the Department of Health to investigate complaints of staffing plan requirement violations and to conduct audits.