Year-End Issue | December 2019

from the director

Betsy Lehman’s legacy is fresh in our thoughts this month, the 25th anniversary of her death. Ms. Lehman was the mother of two young girls and a health reporter at The Boston Globe when she received an overdose of chemotherapy during treatment for breast cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In the aftermath, her Globe colleagues wrote extensively about vulnerabilities in the care delivery system – vulnerabilities that were far more common than the medical community had recognized. Her death became a defining moment in patient safety.

We’re grateful to Dr. Joseph Jacobson, Chief Quality Officer at Dana-Farber, for sharing his perspective on progress over the past 25 years and remaining challenges in this issue of Patient Safety Beat. Dr. Jacobson is currently leading a team to transform the way patient safety work is conceptualized and executed at Dana-Farber. 

This year is also notable for our first-in-the-nation effort to create a Roadmap to Patient Safety, a statewide action plan to dramatically improve safety in all care settings – first of our top stories below. We believe Massachusetts is well-positioned to lead the way on this challenge.

With best wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season and New Year,

Barbara Fain, Executive Director

five questions

Dr. Jacobson on what a systems approach to safety at Dana-Farber really means 

"Changing the paradigm requires transformation that must engage the entire organization, from the CEO to frontline staff." – Joseph Jacobson, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

TOP PATIENT SAFETY BEAT STORIES OF 2019

How Massachusetts can lead the way on patient safety

A statewide public-private consortium convened by the Betsy Lehman Center is committed to accelerating current efforts to radically improve health care delivery with safety atop the priority list.

Unique, media-rich patient safety toolkit appeals to a wide range of learners

Boston Medical Center’s multimedia toolkit is a flexible and accessible way to spread patient safety practices in your hospital.

For this young filmmaker, patient safety runs in the family

“To Err Is Human” explores solutions to some of patient safety’s most vexing problems and, for director Mike Eisenberg, a new connection to his late father, John, an early director of AHRQ. 

Labor and management work together on safety at this academic medical center

Hospital managers and union leaders find common ground collaborating on unit-based teams on the frontline to improve patient care and job satisfaction at UMass Medical Center.

Sepsis survivors share what they have learned

Patients and family members share their experiences to make sure others are aware of this life-threatening condition and know to get help fast. 

Follow us on LinkedIn! Keep up with our research, initiatives and other patient safety news at www.linkedin.com/company/theBetsyLehmanCenter

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.