Contact Your Legislator in Support of Protecting Patient Safety!

Our healthcare system relies on the concept of “Just Culture,” that is, it acknowledges that errors occur due to system failures that allow them to occur. When an error is made, healthcare facilities rely on clinicians to voluntarily report the error so that a root cause analysis can be performed, and future errors can be prevented via system changes. Evidence-based patient safety programs depend on clinicians reporting unintentional errors so that healthcare organizations can identify system failures and prevent future harm. If clinicians fear criminal prosecution for voluntary disclosure of a medical error, they will be much less likely to report errors, and this will allow system failures to go undetected and uncorrected, ultimately making patients less safe. Such a risk also makes it more difficult to recruit individuals to be healthcare providers. 

It is vital that we preserve Just Culture to protect patient safety by removing the fear of criminal prosecution for an unintentional error as was passed in Kentucky.