The Massachusetts legislature is considering
House Bill 2059 which is known as the Patient Safety Act.
April, 2008
The Massachusetts legislature is considering House Bill 2059 which is known as the Patient Safety Act. The main provisions of this Act would a.) authorize the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to establish the maximum number of hospital patients that could be assigned to one nurse at the same time; and, b.) prohibit hospitals from forcing nurses to work overtime. Hospitals and insurance companies oppose this legislation on the basis of cost and the claim that they are being "micro-managed." The Journal of the American Medical Association, in its October, 2002 publication, indicated that when more than four patients are assigned to a nurse, each patient over four results in a 7% increase in the likelihood of patient death. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, in its 2002 report, Nursing at the Crossroads, indicated that inadequate staffing caused 1/4 of all unexpected occurrences that led to patient deaths,
injuries or permanent loss of function.