Bipartisan Policy Center issues report on IT safety plan

The Bipartisan Policy Center has issued recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed health IT safety plan. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology released a proposed plan for comment in December 2012. Goals included making it easier to report safety events and risks using EHR reporting tools, developing a code of conduct for IT vendors and incorporating safety in post-market surveillance of certified EHRs.

Four former Senate Majority Leaders--Howard Baker (R), Bob Dole (R), Tom Daschle (D) and George Mitchell (D)--formed the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2007 to facilitate political consensus on national policy in several issue areas, including healthcare. The group issued their recommendations for the IT safety plan in a new report that calls for a safety oversight framework based on the following five principles:

* Recognize and support IT’s important role in improving quality, safety, efficiencies and the patient experience;

* Assure that safety and positive outcomes are shared responsibilities throughout the healthcare system;

* Make a framework that is risk-based, flexible and will not stifle innovation;

* Leverage existing safety and quality-related processes, systems and standards; and

* Establish a non-punitive environment to encouraging reporting of safety issues, learning and improving.

The report, An Oversight Framework for Assuring Patient Safety in Health Information Technology, is available here.