Welcome to the March/April edition of the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS)’s newsletter! This month, we’re highlighting an opportunity for those attending AOA on Capitol Hill, featuring one of HCAPS’ top advocates, and sharing how your organization can become a Friend of HCAPS.

Join HCAPS during AOA on Capitol Hill

Advocacy is critical to advancing the HCAPS mission of patient safety and having our voices heard by federal and state lawmakers.

HCAPS looks forward to attending this year’s in-person AOA on Capitol Hill, hosted by the American Optometric Association, to engage with other optometry advocates and raise awareness of the most important issues impacting patient safety today.

Will you be at AOA on Capitol Hill? We are looking to schedule brief interviews  highlighting advocates’ work for patient safety. Just respond directly to this email and we will be in touch!

Advocate for Patient Safety with HCAPS

HCAPS thanks our many advocates who have taken action in the last few years to protect patient safety and the doctor-patient relationship! You have shown Congress why it’s important for patient health and safety to remain top of mind in all legislative decisions.

Our advocate leaderboard reflects our community’s commitment to patient safety, and we want to take the time to feature the individual who has earned the most advocacy points since its inception: Dr. Ken Lawenda.

Dr. Lawenda has been a practicing optometrist for 50 years and previously served as the President of the California Optometric Association. He is a champion for patient safety, and we appreciate his engagement with HCAPS on social media and by taking action on legislation.

You can join Dr. Lawenda and other advocates on the HCAPS leaderboard by:

• Learning more about the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Act
• Urging your members of Congress to co-sponsor the bill, or 
• Sharing your story if you or one of your patients has been negatively impacted by robocalls in the contact lens verification process.

Become a Friend of HCAPS

Thank you to the 35 Friends of HCAPS! We value your dedication to patient safety and protecting the doctor-patient relationship. You can see the full list of Friends on our website.

There are three easy steps that associations, schools, and other non-profit entities need to take to become a Friend of HCAPS:

1. Provide a statement of support for the HCAPS advocacy mission.
2. Provide a logo and agree for that logo to be included on the HCAPS site and in HCAPS electronic or printed materials.
3. Commit to the HCAPS advocacy mission of supporting patient safety and the doctor-patient relationship.

Interested organizations can respond directly to this email for more information on how to become a Friend of HCAPS.

Thank you for your continued advocacy, and see you in DC!