Common Good, the nonpartisan legal reform coalition, is launching a new State Action Project to solidify state-level interest in pursuing pilot projects to create health courts or administrative compensation systems for resolving medical injury litigation. The State Action Project is a key component of Common Good's new initiative—supported by a two-year grant of nearly $1 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)—to promote the creation of special health courts to handle medical injury disputes.

Common Good is initially launching the new State Action Project in six states: Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. In each of these states, there are significant numbers of stakeholders who would like to develop a proposal for establishing a health court or administrative compensation system. In addition, interest groups, legislators, and thought leaders in these states are turning to Common Good and its academic research partners for support and input. Through this project, Common Good will provide information and technical assistance to interested parties in these states, with the goal of solidifying interest in pursuing pilot projects.

"Momentum is building rapidly for health courts," said Philip K. Howard, chair of Common Good. "These six states are pointing the way forward to restoring reliability to medical justice."

"We have been privileged to work with many outstanding leaders at the state level who are committed to advancing patient-centered, safety-focused medical liability reforms," said Paul Barringer, general counsel of Common Good. "The State Action Project provides an exciting new opportunity to build a foundation for meaningful change."

A prototype for health courts has been developed by Common Good and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health to address key failings in the medical liability system by expediting compensation to injured patients, enhancing consistency in justice, facilitating patient safety initiatives, and improving efficiencies. The health court model has attracted interest from policymakers at both the federal and state levels.

"Health courts hold potential to improve the medical justice system and contribute to meaningful improvements in patient safety and quality of care," said Nancy Barrand, RWJF senior program officer. "With so much at stake, it is important to demonstrate the feasibility of this model and test its strengths."

In each selected state, Common Good will help convene working groups of supporters to develop a strategy for establishing a health court or administrative compensation pilot project. Although the exact composition will vary by state, these task forces will typically include academics, patient safety/consumer advocates, physicians, and industry representatives.

Common Good will provide information and other resources in each state, including background information, outreach guidance, template documents, and details about a range of other state proposals. These resources will be distributed to the Task Forces as well as policymakers, legislators, the media, and others.

In all these efforts, Common Good will continue to collaborate with its academic research partners from the Harvard School of Public Health, the Harvard Medical School, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and Yale Law School.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

Common Good(www.cgood.org) is a nonpartisan legal reform coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America. Its advisory board is composed of leaders in a wide range of fields: former government officials, including Howard Baker, Bill Bradley, Griffin Bell, Newt Gingrich, Eric Holder, George McGovern, Diane Ravitch, Alan Simpson, and Richard Thornburgh; current and former university presidents, including Bill Brody, Tom Kean, George Rupp, and John Silber; and numerous other leaders in education, health care, law, business, and public policy. The Chair of Common Good is Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and author of The Death of Common Sense and The Collapse of the Common Good.