Patient Safety Improvement Act of 2020 (SB 3380)

The Patient Safety Improvement Act of 2020 (SB 3380) was introduced in the United States Senate on March 3, 2020, by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). The Patient Safety Improvement Act of 2020 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to take actions related to healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship, and patient safety. Concerning healthcare-associated conditions, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants for state and regional infection control programs, establish a pilot program related to data reporting by long-term care facilities, and award grants to eligible entities for infection control during patient care transitions (Patient safety improvement act of 2020. 2020). Concerning antimicrobial stewardship, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must award grants to states to implement antimicrobial stewardship plans.

With respect to patient safety, the Department of Health and Human Services must incentivize state medical boards to require education on patient safety topics as a condition of licensure, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must harmonize quality measure reporting requirements through a collaborative that includes representatives from insurers and patient groups. Ethical dilemmas have resulted from technology changes when delivering care to patients or patient safety. One such dilemma is the potential for patients’ electronic health records to be accessed without their consent or knowledge. This could potentially lead to patients’ confidential information being shared without their knowledge or consent, violating their privacy rights. Another ethical dilemma is the potential for errors when inputting data into electronic health records. This could lead to patients receiving incorrect treatments or the wrong medications.

One way to resolve the ethical dilemmas associated with electronic health records is to ensure that patients are made aware of how their reports are used and have the opportunity to give their consent before their records are accessed (Patient safety improvement act of 2020. 2020). Another way to resolve these dilemmas is to put safeguards in place to ensure that data is inputted correctly into electronic health records.

Reference

Patient safety improvement act of 2020. Patient Safety Network. (2020). Web.