Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today introduced legislation to ensure that critically ill and injured patients continue to receive the highest-quality care. The Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act of 2011 is designed to identify gaps in the current medical critical care system and bolster capabilities to meet future demands.
“Despite the significant role critical care medicine plays in providing high quality health care and its impact on health care costs, it is often not understood as a distinct specialty posing intense challenges in the health care system,” explained Congresswoman Baldwin. “If we are to reduce costs and improve the quality of medical care, it’s important to assess the unique demands of critical care,” Baldwin said.
Critical care medicine is the care of patients whose illnesses or injuries present a significant danger to life, limb, or organ function. Each year, five million Americans are admitted into traditional, surgical or neo-natal intensive care units (ICUs), and nearly 80 percent of all Americans will experience a critical care injury or illness as a patient, family member, or friend of a patient. Critical care medicine consumes a significant proportion of our health care expenditures, representing 13% of all hospital costs, with the total costs of critical care services in the U.S. exceeding $80 billion annually.
Dr. Jeffrey Grossman, President and CEO, University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Board of Directors Chair, Roundtable on Critical Care Policy said, “The Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act of 2011 is a major step forward in advancing a comprehensive federal critical care agenda in Congress. The bill authorizes a much-needed assessment of our critical care delivery system and will provide a roadmap for aligning our current resources with our policy goals. This is a significant development for Wisconsin’s patients, families and health care professionals.”
The Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act would:
- Establish a Critical Care Coordinating Council within the National Institutes of Health to coordinate the collection and analysis of information on critical care research, identify gaps in such research, and strengthen partnerships with public and private entities to expand collaborative, cross-cutting research;
- Authorize the development of best practices for ICU evacuations during national emergencies or disasters;
- Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report on the availability of critical care practitioners within the federal government’s medical response teams, and develop methods to address any shortages that may exist; and
- Establish a panel on emergency preparedness databases to assess existing information networks and recommend ways to improve resource awareness.
The legislation is endorsed by the Roundtable on Critical Care Policy (www.criticalcareroundtable.org).
