The Government Affairs Department at AORN advocates for and promotes patient safety through public policy and legislative initiatives at the state and federal levels.
Healthcare professionals and patients aren’t the only people concerned about patient safety. State and Federal legislators on behalf of their constituents, are developing and implementing laws and regulations to reduce medical errors, improve relationships between healthcare professionals and patients, and to promote patient safety initiatives in all healthcare settings.
At the Federal LevelIn July 2005, the US Congress passed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA). The PSQIA creates an incentive for healthcare providers to report medical errors to a centralized database where researchers will analyze the information to make recommendations on best practices for patient safety. Patient Safety Organizations will be certified by the Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHQR) for the purposes of collecting, analyzing, and providing feedback regarding the reported patient safety data. AHQR is currently in the process of developing rules to implement the PSQIA.
At the State LevelA number of states have already implemented laws requiring hospitals and other healthcare facilities to report medical errors or facility-acquired infections in the interest of developing state-specific patient safety practices. During the 2006 legislative session, more than thirty (30) states proposed legislation to require healthcare facilities to report adverse event including infections. Many states have also created commissions and task forces to investigate and study patient safety issues in the state and to provide recommendations for how to address the identified issues.
AORNGovernment Affairs tracks and analyzes patient safety laws and regulations at both the federal and state levels as a means to participate in the advocacy for and development of far-reaching patient safety public policy. Additionally, AORN is engaged in a number of state legislative initiatives to improve patient safety in the operating room pursuant to the AORN Board of Director’s number one legislative priority which requires a registered nurse to serve as the circulator during every operative or invasive procedure.
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