Bush signs patient safety bill

On July 29, President Bush signed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 after receiving confirmation from the House and Senate. The new legislation amends title IX of the Public Health Service Act, and encourages the reporting of healthcare mistakes to patient safety organizations by making these reports confidential, and shielding them from use in civil and criminal proceedings.

The bill was passed by the Senate on July 21. Full text of the bill is available at http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109wU4HDt::.