ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Subcommittee on Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-3943
February 3, 2000
No. HL-11

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Since Medicare's inception, a variety of measures have been utilized to help ensure the quality of medical care received by Medicare beneficiaries (e.g., Peer Review Organizations). Recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, that has brought the issue of patient safety to the forefront of health policy discussion. This report cites studies that estimate the annual number of deaths resulting from medical errors in the United States to be at least 44,000, and possibly as high as 98,000. This number equates to the eighth leading cause of death in the nation and is more than the amounts attributed to auto accidents, cancer, or AIDS.

The statistical data included in the IOM study were derived from the hospital inpatient environment. As the country's largest insurer, Medicare Part A is the primary source of funding for services provided in these locations. Authors of the IOM study recommend several potential strategies for government, industry, consumers, and health providers to reduce medical errors. Additionally, the authors encourage Congress to create a national patient safety center to develop new tools and systems in order to address persistent problems.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated, "As Congress prepares to act on patient protection legislation, we must examine the problem of medical errors this year. After all, isn't the ultimate patient protection to prevent deaths from medical errors? Congress should not complete patients' rights legislation without examining potential solutions to prevent patients from dying due to medical errors. I look forward to this hearing to learn how Congress might develop solutions that will help protect seniors and all other patients in the health care system."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will provide the opportunity to hear from the administration, advisory bodies, and providers on why medical errors occur and what possible solutions could be utilized to prevent them.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, February 24, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Health office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.