HHS Plans to Launch New System to Allow Health Care Professionals to Report Medical Errors Online
HHS plans to develop a new system that will allow physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to report medical errors and adverse events online, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said Monday. Thompson said that the new system will eliminate the multiple paper forms that health care professionals must submit when they report medical errors to Medicare "so that they can focus more on providing quality care" to patients. In addition, Thompson said that Medicare will pilot a Web-based enrollment form for medical supply companies later this year. The online form will allow Medicare to reduce review time for enrollment applications, Thompson said. The programs represent two of "several steps" to address interim recommendations from the HHS Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform. Thompson established the committee, which includes consumers, physicians and other health care professionals, to help HHS reduce "unnecessarily burdensome or inefficient regulations that interfere with the quality of health care for Americans" (HHS release, 6/10). For more iHealth & Technology stories, visit iHealthBeat.org, a new Web publication sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.
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