U.S. House Bill to Establish an NPSB

On March 8, 2024, U.S. Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) and Dr. Michael Burgess (TX-26), members of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, reintroduced the National Patient Safety Board Act (H.R. 7591), legislation that would establish a National Patient Safety Board (NPSB), a nonpunitive, collaborative, and independent board within the Department of Health and Human Services to address safety in health care modeled in part after successful entities in the transportation industry. This landmark legislation is a critical step to improve safety for patients and healthcare providers by coordinating existing efforts within a single independent agency solely focused on addressing patient safety in health care.

• The NPSB’s data-driven solutions would prevent harm before it occurs and reduce the burden on frontline teams.
• The NPSB would aggregate and analyze existing patient safety data collected across HHS agencies to gain national insights.
• No government entity is tasked with looking at patient safety nationwide; NPSB would fill this gap.
• A coalition of over 90 leading healthcare organizations and stakeholders is on board.
• Now is the time for Congress to establish the NPSB.