April 2020

From the Director

COVID-19 has challenged our health care system and our communities in ways that are unprecedented in our lifetimes. This public health crisis and response will impact all of us but, on behalf of the Betsy Lehman Center, let me begin by expressing our gratitude to those of you who are directly involved in the response either in a leadership role or on the front lines of patient care, sometimes at great personal risk.

We are especially aware of the informational needs of many independent ambulatory medical settings as they seek to adapt their practices to keep their clinicians, staff, and patients safe and to avoid further community spread of COVID-19. To that end, we were pleased to partner with the Board of Registration in Medicine and the Massachusetts Medical Society to produce the first of a series of targeted publications to address those unique and diverse needs. “COVID-19 Information for Massachusetts Medical Office Practices” digests, synthesizes and links to up-to-date recommendations, guidance and tools from state and federal authorities that are of particular relevance to those who practice or work in physicians’ offices. We will update it regularly on our website, and it also will be released today by MMS and by BORIM, which is emailing it to all 41,000 licensed Massachusetts physicians.

We will continue to support the COVID-19 response in any way we can. This includes a new webpage that links to curated resources for tending to the emotional needs of staff, clinicians and patients that will become increasingly acute as the pandemic runs its course.

Last but certainly not least, this issue highlights our release of recommendations and a toolkit for improving detection and response to sepsis in post-acute and long-term care settings. We developed these resources in collaboration with a statewide task force drawn from the post-acute and long-term care communities. This information is especially critical now, as COVID-19 can lead to sepsis in older individuals and others with multiple health conditions who rely upon these services.

As always, we invite you to share your feedback and let us know how we might help you as you strive to advance patient safety in these extraordinary times.

Be safe and be well,

Barbara Fain, Executive Director

UP FRONT

Massachusetts Sepsis Consortium offers new resources for post-acute care providers

These evidence-based recommendations and toolkits can boost early recognition of sepsis in patients receiving services across the post-acute care continuum. 

FIVE QUESTIONS

Direct care workers are key to timely action for sepsis patients

“It’s critical for direct care workers to be alert to changes in behavior or eating habits, to report what they observe and to feel confident that they’ll be heard.” – Eric J. Reines, M.D., Element Care PACE and Advisor, Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Geriatric Medicine  

ONE LAST THING

Clinicians and staff may need additional support during the COVID-19 pandemic

Here is a short list of resources – ranging from stress management tips to a coronavirus “sanity guide” – for health care professionals and managers working on the frontlines. 

Patient Safety Beat is published monthly by the Betsy Lehman Center, a state agency that uses communications, research, and data to catalyze the efforts of providers, policymakers, and consumers working toward safer health care in Massachusetts.