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REMARKS BY: DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN ERVICES PLACE: White House Event on Medical Errors, Washington, D.C. DATE: February 22, 2000
Thank you Secretary Herman. President Clinton, Ms. Blakeney and distinguished guests.
Between Valentine's Day - which was just a week ago - and people getting married sight-unseen on television, I can't resist the temptation to tell a quick story about Secretary Herman.
As you probably know, Secretary Herman is a newlywed. She was married two weekends ago at the National Cathedral. But you probably don't know that Secretary Herman was dating her husband-to-be while she and I were co-chairing the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality.
Now you're probably thinking that heartfelt talks about such romantic subjects as: New statistical models for measuring errors at publicly supported hospitals - was not what brought these two wonderful people together.
But you would be wrong.
Secretary Herman claims that talking about patient care, the Commission's work, and most important - the need to reduce medical errors - actually enhanced her relationship. Of course, Secretary Herman and I both know that reducing medical errors has to be more than a private conversation. This problem calls for an ongoing public dialogue.
Let me briefly describe what we're up against.
As the Institute of Medicine pointed out: At least 44,000 deaths occur every because of preventable medical errors. That number could be as high as 98,000. This makes medical errors the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. One percent of the medical interventions in intensive care units turn out to be wrong. And 20 percent of that one percent cause death or serious bodily harm.
That may not sound like much. But when you add up the numbers, you end up with thousands of deaths every year. Not to mention pain, suffering and disabling injuries. There are also financial costs, 29 billion dollars in lost income, disability and health care costs every year.
This is why we needed a public dialogue about medical errors. Ours began three years ago when the President's Advisory Commission issued a landmark report that included the first Patient's Bill of Rights.
Since we just celebrated President's Day, let me be clear: Thanks to President Madison we have a Bill of Rights. And thanks to President Clinton we will have a Patient's Bill of Rights.
The Patients Bill of Rights was not the Advisory Commission's last word on quality. We issued a second report about health care quality and the need to identify and reduce medical errors. We also called for the establishment of a federal Quality Interagency Coordination Taskforce. Now known as the QuIC.
At the President's request, Vice President Gore launched the Quality Forum - a group of mostly private sector advisors - to come up with uniform quality standards. Our Agency for Health Care Research and Quality is the lead agency in improving quality health care, and under the leadership of Dr. John Eisenberg has funded critical research into the frequency and causes of medical errors. In fact, this research was used by the Institute of Medicine in its own historic report.
The President likes to say: Our goal is not to fix blame, but to fix the problem.
That's why in addition to bringing together the best minds from both inside and outside government, we're devoting more money and attention to the problem of medical errors than ever before.
The CDC collects data on adverse events, including hospital-acquired infections. HCFA demands high standards for hospitals that participate in Medicare. FDA compiles data on errors related to drugs and medical devices. Other federal agencies including the Department of Defense, the VA, OPM - as well as states and the private sector - are providing exemplary leadership too.
Still, much of the battle to reduce medical errors is being fought right on the front lines. In hospitals. In doctors offices. In community clinics. And by dedicated health care professionals like Barbara Blakeney.
Ms. Blakeney. . .
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