Roadmap to health care safety for Massachusetts (April 2023)

Summary

On 26 April 2023, the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum held an important forum at the Omni Parker House entitled, "Roadmap to Health Care Safety for Massachusetts."  

A 2019 study identified almost 62,000 preventable patient harm events that resulted in over $617 million in excess health insurance claims in a single year in Massachusetts. In addition to the financial burden that medical harm places on providers, payers, and consumers, the human costs to patients, families, and healthcare workers are unacceptably high.

The Roadmap to Health Care Safety for Massachusetts, produced by a statewide consortium of policymakers, providers, payers, and patient advocates led by the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety, is an innovative plan to break new ground on safety through investment and change management. At the forum, health care leaders from across the state presented the Roadmap goals and discussed immediate action steps.