American health care is facing the same kinds of safety and error concerns that confronted the airline industry years ago. But “pilots have immediate access to the information they need to make informed decisions. In health care today, no such information technology infrastructure exists,” the report authors write.

Widespread use of patient electronic health records, secure exchange technologies to transfer sensitive health information and patient safety data standards are necessary to stop the tens of thousands of errors that the report authors say have crept into the U.S. health care system. The federal government should provide financial support for all of these information upgrades, the report concludes.

The report also suggests that Congress provide direction and financial support for national patient safety data standards that would be administered through the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Reform and Quality and the National Library of Medicine.

The report authors believe these changes will take at least a decade to implement. To read the full report, “Patient Safety: Achieving a New Standard for Care,” go to here.