Making patient safety the centerpiece of medical liability reform.
This commentary is written by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), who coauthored the National Medical Error Disclosure and Compensation (MEDiC) Act. Providing context for the bill, the senators advocate for necessary improvements in patient safety and the medical liability environment through a series of important and interdependent strategies. These include reducing the rates of preventable patient injuries, promoting open communication between physicians and patients, ensuring patients' access to fair compensation for legitimate medical injuries, and reducing liability insurance premiums for providers. The senators further discuss the implications of each approach and specifically outline the major provisions of the bill, including how it will foster and promote the necessary improvement efforts.