Patient Safety Legislation: A Look at Health Policy Development

On July 29, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act. This long-awaited bill came after considerable debate in the Senate and the House that focused on patient safety highlighted by the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) report, To Err Is Human. The IOM report brought the significance of patient safety issues to the national forefront and called for congressional action, but it was 6 years after that report before Congress passed legislation in this area. The article explores the development of patient safety legislation and provides a historical review and analysis of the events leading to the passage of the final bill. It provides background about the major issues requiring resolution and compromise, compares the positions of the competing stakeholders, and describes the importance and degree of influence that can derive from input by stakeholders in the passage of legislation.