February 2019

Up Front

Improving diagnosis in primary care one case at a time

A multi-disciplinary team is using a 'case study' approach to share diagnostic error learnings in Massachusetts and beyond 

Five Questions

For this young filmmaker, patient safety runs in the family

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

Safety Snapshot

Help your patients (and yourself) with infection control

The latest installment in The Joint Commission’s redesigned “Speak Up” series encourages everyone to do the right thing.  

Upcoming events

MSHRM Annual Meeting & Conference

When: March 7, 2019, 7:30 am – 3:00 pm
Where: Courtyard Marriott, 75 Felton Street, Marlborough, MA
What: The Massachusetts Society of Health Care Risk Management’s annual conference includes presentations by leaders from the Betsy Lehman Center, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, and more.
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WIHI: How to Make Patient Safety Easier to Explain and Champion

When: March 21, 2019, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
What: WIHI is the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s free online “talk show.” This episode will review a new study from the Betsy Lehman Center and the FrameWorks Institute about how people think and talk about patient safety.
Who: M.E. Malone, Deputy Director, Betsy Lehman Center; Rose Hendricks, researcher, FrameWorks Institute; William Berry, Associate Director & Senior Advisor to Executive Director, Ariadne Labs.
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Collaborating to Promote Safe Practices; Expedite the Learnings

When: March 29, 2019, 8:00 am – 12:30 pm
Where: Albert Sherman Center, ASC Auditorium, AS2.2102; UMASS Medical Center, Worcester, MA
What: The Board of Registration in Medicine’s Quality & Patient Safety Division Spring Program is free and includes presentations about treating sepsis, systems improvement in obstetrics, and psychiatric patients in emergency medicine. Physicians can earn 4 hours Category 1 CME; Nurses, 4 hours CEU (pending approval).
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2019 Patient Safety Forum: Accelerating All Performance Improvement

When: April 3, 2019, 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Where: Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center, 1657 Worcester Road, Framingham, MA
What: The Patient Safety Forum is held annually by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors. Focused on accelerating performance improvement across all organizational goals, including patient safety, the Forum will feature principles and strategies to engage clinicians, department leaders, patients, family members and others in process improvement.
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Nominations for the Sherman Award for Patient Engagement

When: Nominations are open through March 8, 2019
What: The annual Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement and Sherman Citation for Excellence in Pediatric Patient Engagement are sponsored by the Lucian Leape Institute at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Taylor Healthcare.
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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.