| 03/31/2005 |
| Bill would give insurance break to docs who improve safety |
| Editor: Our society can no longer afford health care systems that squander 30 to 60 cents out of every health care dollar on inefficiencies and life-threatening poor quality. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) have offered an off-the-shelf solution in the form of "Quality Management Systems: Guidelines for process improvements in health service organizations." The doctors' lobby is, however, focused on capping malpractice damages instead of demanding quality systems that will prevent about 85 percent of the malpractice. This is the typical percentage of trouble that comes from deficiencies in the systems in which people must work as opposed to carelessness or negligence. State Rep. Phyllis Mundy's House Bill 743 will encourage hospitals and health care providers to implement state-of-the-art quality management systems by offering "a 20 percent discount in the [malpractice insurance] premium for a health care provider that implements, to the satisfaction of the Department of Health, a total quality management health care system approved by the Department of Health." It is vital that all Pennsylvanians ask their representatives to get on board. William A. Levinson Wilkes-Barre |
ŠThe Citizens Voice 2005