Granholm Welcomes Patient Safety Commission Recommendations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2006

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm will welcome recommendations designed to improve patient safety and reduce health care errors across the state from her designated Patient Safety Commission today.

The State Commission on Patient Safety will release its recommendations to the public today at a 12 p.m. media briefing in Troy.

"Members of the Patient Safety Commission have worked tirelessly? over the course of the last year ? to create a revolutionary new vision to improve patient safety and reduce health care errors in Michigan," Granholm said. "I appreciate their efforts and am anxious to review the Commission?s final report."

MDCH Director Janet Olszewski said her department will review the Commission's report and present an implementation plan for the recommendations to the Governor within the next 90 days.

"The report is a wonderful starting point for improving patient safety in Michigan," Olszewski said. "We will be reviewing the recommendations over the next several weeks to determine which concepts to implement soon, and which to build into the state?s long term plans for reducing health care errors."

Some the recommendations central to the Commission?s report include:

• Creating a Michigan Center for Safe Health Care, a freestanding, non-profit organization to coordinate efforts around the state to reduce patient harm. Several states have enacted legislation supporting the creation of such patient safety centers to address the problem of health care errors.
• Establishing a statewide, confidential, and non-punitive voluntary error reporting system. The Michigan Center for Safe Health Care would design, implement, and manage the reporting system, which would be used to identify important areas.
• Increasing outreach to patients, their families, and consumers in general to make them partners in patient safety.

In all, the report contains 13 major objectives regarding patient safety.

Download a copy of the report.

Granholm formed the Patient Safety Commission in 2005 after designating the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition to serve in that capacity. The Commission includes representatives from 15 organizations that includes health plans, major employers, professional associations, and hospital, physician, consumer, and labor organizations.

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