Two programs from the Betsy Lehman Center that can help hospitals attain key elements in the Patient Safety Structural Measure are featured in free webinars available from the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association. 

• Patient and Family Advisory Councils: Uplifting the Patient Voice, features Jane Powers, Director of PFAC programming at the Betsy Lehman Center, moderating a discussion among leaders in patient relations and experience at the Cambridge Health Alliance. While Massachusetts is the only state that requires hospitals to have a PFAC, the patient and family engagement domain of the PSSM emphasizes the roles councils should play in safety work. The Betsy Lehman Center has dedicated staff and resources to help hospital PFACs engage with one another and enhance their capacity to contribute to safety improvement.
• Communication and Resolution Programs: Achieving Accountability and Transparency includes Peter Smulowitz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Milford Regional Medical Center, and Melinda Van Niel, Program Director at the Betsy Lehman Center, discussing the Communication, Apology and Resolution (CARe) framework. An alternative to litigation following medical harm events, CARe supports patients, families and health care professionals with prompt and empathic communication, resources and a commitment to learning from these events to prevent them from recurring. The PSSM asks hospitals to attest that they offer a communication and resolution program as part of the accountability and transparency domain.
• MHA also offers an introductory webinar in which Patricia McGaffigan, R.N., M.S., Senior Advisor for Patient and Workforce Safety at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, provides an overview of the PSSM. 

Published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last year, the PSSM requires hospitals to attest whether they have instituted key strategies and practices—organized in five domains—known to build effective organizational culture and improve patient safety. Hospitals must begin reporting PSSM attestations to CMS for CY 2025 starting next spring. For more information about the PSSM, click here.