ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Johnson Announces Hearing on
Health Quality and Medical Errors

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on improving health quality.  In addition, strategies to ensure patient safety and reduce medical errors will be discussed.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 7, 2002, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at  11:00 a.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  Witnesses will include representatives from the U.S Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the provider community and academia.  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:

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), fatalities from medical errors are estimated to be the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.  In 1999, IOM’s study To Err is Human:  Building a Safer Health System, estimated annual deaths from medical errors are at least 44,000 and may be as high as 98,000.  The number who are injured is higher.

More often than not medical errors occur because of endemic system problems, not lack of skill or imprudence.  Seniors interact with the medical system more frequently than most because of the potential for accident, injury or death to Medicare beneficiaries is more prevalent. As the country’s largest insurer of seniors, Medicare has the potential to create processes and adopt technological advances that decrease adverse medical events, thereby significantly improving the quality of patient care and reducing Medicare costs.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated, “Medicare patients are some of the most vulnerable in the health care system.  We must take the opportunity presented by advances in patient care and technology to protect seniors from harmful errors and improve the quality of their care.  There should be very little disagreement on such a goal, so a bipartisan approach is possible.  Here is an area where we can revolutionize senior care.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

Thursday’s hearing will focus on improving health quality through reductions in medical errors and enhanced patient safety.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to A “hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov,” along with a fax copy to 202/225-2610, by the close of business, Thursday, March 21, 2002.  Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Health in room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing.  The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse unopened and unsearchable deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

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. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST 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.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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.