Feds propose National Patient Safety Board to make hospitals safer
Could a ‘National Patient Safety Board’ actually keep patients SAFE from hospital harm?
Friend, just think about it…
We have an ENTIRE branch of government to keep us safe from foreign aggression. (And thank God for our military and the brave soldiers who fight to ensure we keep our freedom.)
But when it comes to our health… and the dangers we face every day…
We’re up against an enemy that’s coming from WITHIN our own country…
Found right on our own soil.
It’s our hospital system.
Hospitalized patients… including older folks on Medicare… are in the crosshairs for misdiagnoses… mistreatment… overdoses… medical errors… and more.
According to the Patient Safety Action Network, 8.8 million Americans are harmed in hospitals every year.
But as no one is REQUIRED to report incidences like these… nobody is keeping hospitals ACCOUNTABLE for their bad behavior.
That may change soon… as there’s a bill on the table to create a “National Patient Safety Board.”
The idea is that a bunch of “experts” would keep their eyes on unsafe conditions… keep track of anything bad that happens… and suggest ways that hospitals could keep their patients from getting harmed in the future.
Leave it to government bureaucracy to see a problem… and create a committee to solve it.
Sounds to me like it’s gonna be a lot of talk… and very little action.
Now, the feds actually have a decent track record with a similar committee: the National Transportation Safety Board. Some very real numbers show how the NTSB has helped keep planes from crashing… trains from derailing… and more.
But we’re not talking about MACHINES here…
We’re talking about REAL PEOPLE!
And lives are hanging in the balance when those folks acquire an infection while hospitalized…
One that could be incredibly painful, like a UTI… or DEADLY, like sepsis or MRSA.
And unlike accidents that happen in the U.S. airspace… or on our highways or railways… those hospital incidents aren’t necessary in the public eye.
So how will this proposed board even KNOW what they’re supposed to be advising on?
That would require A LOT more transparency from hospital administrators… and I’m not optimistic about how much “dirty laundry” they’ll want to air, when their funding might depend on their safety record.
Listen, something absolutely MUST be done to keep patients in hospitals from getting worse… or landing in an early grave… when it could’ve otherwise been prevented.
As it is, some folks are so TERRIFIED of hospitals… they wait too long to receive necessary care.
But no one could blame them for not wanting to catch something in the hospital they didn’t walk in with…
Roll out of those doors with a devastating disability…
Or, worst of all, lose their life.
Bottom line: We’re dealing with government bureaucracy here, so who knows how long it would take to get this safety board approved… assembled… and up and running?
If you find yourself in a hospital… even for just a routine procedure… make sure you’ve got someone advocating for you and keeping an eye on your care.
Second-guess EVERYTHING. If something looks wrong, file a complaint with anyone who’ll listen.
And if it’s someone you love and care for who becomes the patient at risk… do the same for them.