Medical Mistakes bill

Patient Safety Improvement Act of 2002 - (Sec. 2) Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to add a new part D (Patient Safety Improvements) to provide for voluntary reporting to the Secretary of Health and Human Services of patient safety data.

Prescribes confidentiality and peer review protections for such data. Directs the Comptroller General to survey and report to the Congress on State laws that relate to patient safety data peer review systems, and to review the manner in which such laws have been interpreted by the courts and their effectiveness in promoting patient safety.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to ensure that the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety supports public and private sector initiatives to improve patient safety for items and services furnished through health care providers. Charges the Center with: (1) providing for the certification and recertification of patient safety organizations; and (2) establishing a Patient Safety Database to collect, support, and coordinate the analysis of non-identifiable information concerning patient safety that is reported.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop voluntary, national standards that promote the interoperability of health care information technology systems across all health care settings; and (2) encourage health care providers to adopt appropriate evidence-based methods to improve patient safety.

(Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to appoint a Medical Information Technology Advisory Board to advise and make recommendations on medical information technology, including: (1) the best current practices in such technology; (2) methods of implementing health care information technology interoperability standardization and records security; (3) recommendations for health care vocabulary, messaging, and other technology standards necessary to achieve the interoperability of health care information systems; and (4) methods to promote information exchange among health care providers in order to maximize long-term compatibility among information systems.

Authorizes appropriations.