Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986

Testimony was given on the reporting of information relating to payment of medical malpractice claims and certain other adverse actions taken against health practitioners. GAO favors the reporting of such information on physicians and other appropriate health professionals to a repository that can be referenced by hospitals and other health entities, since there is not sufficient exchange of information among state licensing agencies to facilitate timely access to information on practitioners. GAO believes that Congress should explicitly include federally-operated hospitals in the legislation in terms of both having to report incidents and being allowed access to the information. GAO also believes that Congress should also consider the need to report the withdrawal of physicians' permits to write prescriptions.