Consumer Federation of California endorses Prop. 46 to protect patient safety

the Consumer Federation of California, a powerful advocacy organization that campaigns for laws that place consumer protection ahead of corporate profit, endorsed Prop 46, the November ballot initiative that will protect patient safety and save lives.

Consumer Federation of California joins a broad coalition of consumer groups, health care professionals, and victims of medical negligence who support Proposition 46, also known as the Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act.

Richard Holober, executive director of CFC, stated, “There are far too many preventable medical errors happening because negligent doctors are not being held accountable. Patients deserve protections, which is exactly what Prop 46 would provide. The only way to prevent negligent behavior and protect patients is to hold offenders accountable and that is why we encourage a Yes on 46 vote in November.”

CFC is best known for standing up for consumers through testifying before the California Legislature on bills that affect consumers as well as appearing before state agencies in support of consumer regulations.

Proposition 46 would:

– Mandate random drug and alcohol testing of doctors, modeled after the Federal Aviation Administration’s testing of airline pilots, and testing after an adverse event at a hospital;
– Require that physicians check the state’s existing prescription drug database before prescribing narcotics and other addictive drugs to first-time patients to curb doctor-shopping drug abusers;
– Promote justice for patients and legal deterrence to wrongdoing by adjusting the state’s malpractice cap to account for 39 years of inflation, while maintaining the existing cap on attorneys’ fees
– Require physicians to report suspected drug or alcohol abuse at work by a colleague.

The proponent of Proposition 46 is Bob Pack, whose two young children were killed by a drunk and drugged doctor-shopping driver who had been overprescribed thousands of pills from Kaiser physicians despite not having physical symptoms.

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