On Friday, President Bush signed into law legislation designed to encourage hospitals, doctors and other healthcare providers to report medical errors. Supporters say the legislation will help improve of the quality of the US healthcare system by highlighting potentially dangerous trends. Crucially, the legislation does not require that hospitals report mistakes and also guarantees that facilities will remain anonymous -- two stipulations which critics say are likely to hurt its effectiveness. The data collected will also be available to government health officials studying the performance of the healthcare system.
- see this story from the Chicago Tribune