For Immediate Release July 9, 2003
Contact: Robert Cavanaugh
732-632-1586
New Jersey Neuroscience Institute Director
Testifies Before Senate Health Committee
EDISON, NJ- On July 8, Subramanian Hariharan, M.D., director of Neuro-Oncology
and associate professor at the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at
JFK Medical Center in Edison, testified before the US Senate HELP
Committee regarding the Patients Safety and Quality Improvement Act
of 2003 (HR 663), a bill recently passed by the House of Representatives.
Dr. Hariharan represented the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Previously, Dr. Hariharan played a key national role in patient safety education representing the AAN and the American College of Physicians.
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2003 (HR 663) is designed to improve reporting of patient safety information by assuring confidentiality and legal protection of information collected and shared with Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs). The Secretary of Health and Human Services would certify a number of PSOs to collect patient safety information and voluntarily submit non-identified information to a national Patient Safety Database for research. The bill also calls for the adoption of standards that promote communication between clinical information technology (IT) systems and provides $25 million in grants (during 2004 and 2005) for the application of electronic prescribing systems and other clinical IT systems.
The AAN believes reforms such as the above bill are needed in order to end their contribution to skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance. The rising cost of malpractice insurance is severely impacting the practice of medicine, causing many doctors to close their doors. Many contend that legislation will bring down these costs and reverse the access to physician crisis occurring in many states.
This is not the first effort NJNI staff has made in debating healthcare concerns for patients and providers. This past January, Gregory Przybylski, MD, professor and director of Neurosurgery at NJNI was one of six physicians nationwide asked to participate in a presidential roundtable that discussed the medical professional liability crisis facing many states in the country.
The New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at JFK Medical Center is a comprehensive facility designed exclusively for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of complex neurological disorders in adults and children. Services offered at the Institute include programs in spine and brain tumors, dizziness and balance disorders, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, stroke, and movement disorders. As a department of Seton Hall University's School of Graduate Medical Education, NJNI serves as the clinical setting for SHU's residency training in neurology.