Nile's Project Supports New Landmark California Law Requiring Doctors on Probation to Notify Patients

Organization joins with Consumer’s Union, Dedicated Patient Advocates and Consumer Watchdog in successful advocacy effort

Perris, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/21/2018 -- Nile's Project, a public awareness and educational organization dedicated to preventing unnecessary deaths from hospital-acquired infections, today announced its full support of legislation signed this week by California Governor Jerry Brown that requires doctors on probation for certain serious offenses to notify their patients.

Doctors who have been put on probation by the Medical Board of California are currently required to disclose their disciplinary status to hospitals and malpractice insurers, but they have no such requirement to inform their patients. California is the first state in the nation to require patient notification, which will take effect on July 1, 2019.

Nile's Project was formed 11 years ago when Ty and Carole Moss unexpectedly lost their 15-year-old son, Nile, to MRSA, also known as the hospital "superbug," from unclean surfaces while undergoing an MRI at the top children's hospital in Orange County, California. Two sets of physicians did not take Nile's signs of sepsis seriously. Nile died days after his MRI due to sepsis and the delayed treatment with proper antibiotics that is the cause of death for more than 250,000 preventable deaths in U.S. hospitals today.

"Nile's Project has long advocated for legislation that Senate Bill 1448 now makes a reality," said Ty Moss, Chief Executive Officer for Nile's Project. "Only with accountability that's now mandated in this law can patients be equipped with the knowledge that allows them to make the best decisions in terms of the medical professionals they decide to use for themselves and their loved ones."

SB 1448, introduced by Senator Jerry Hill, was supported by Consumer Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports, and a number of consumer safety organizations including Consumer Watchdog, ASAP. Nile's Project is one of those organizations and has partnered on other patient advocacy issues with Consumer's Union and individual patient advocates like Lisa McGiffert with Patient Safety Action Network (PSAN), and patient advocates Michele Monserratt-Ramos of Los Angeles and Tina Minasian, of Sacramento for many years.

According to Consumer Union, "Once the law goes into effect, doctors will be required to provide notification when they have been put on probation for offenses involving sexual misconduct with patients, drug abuse that can harm patients, criminal convictions involving harm to patients, and inappropriate prescribing of medication that harmed patients."

Under the new law, physicians will be required to ask patients to sign a form on their first visit after probation has been imposed that discloses the length and end date of their probation, any restrictions placed on their ability to practice, contact information for their licensing board and information on how to access additional details about why they were disciplined.

Consumer Union reports that "nearly 500 doctors in California are on probation for a variety of offenses and are allowed to continue practicing medicine during this disciplinary period. The public overwhelmingly favors requiring doctors on probation to notify their patients. A 2016 Consumer Reports nationally representative survey found that 82% of Americans favor the idea of doctors having to tell patients that they are on probation, and why."

Nile's Project has been active since Nile Moss' death in raising awareness and educational outreach programs in partnership with the Consumers Union, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.

Since its inception, Nile's Project has been responsible for the adoption of Nile's Law in California, which mandates that hospitals publicly report incidences of hospital-acquired infections. Nile's Project has also produced free music concerts where detailed patient safety information was provided to hundreds of families and participated in numerous health fairs where thousands of individuals were made aware of practical ways to prevent deadly infections.

About Nile's Project
Nile's Project is a coalition of Nile's friends, entertainers, musicians, artists and others dedicated to ending unnecessary deaths from MRSA, Staph, C.diff , VRE, and other hospital acquired and community acquired Infections. Nile's Project is devoted to ending the suffering and preventable deaths through education and public awareness.

Website: http://www.nilesproject.com

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