Member Organizations

 The Massachusetts Coalition

The Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors is a public-private partnership whose mission is to improve patient safety and eliminate medical errors in Massachusetts.

The Coalition's membership includes consumer organizations, state agencies, hospitals, professional associations for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, long-term care, as well as health plans, employers, policymakers, and researchers. The Coalition leverages the efforts of all of these organizations to accomplish the shared goal of improving patient safety. The Coalition promotes a systems-oriented approach to improving patient safety, identifying the causes of medical errors, and developing and supporting implementation of strategies for prevention.

A History of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors.

News

Patient and Family Advisory Councils
All acute, chronic, and long term care hospitals are required to have a written plan by September 30, 2009 for the establishment of a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) by October 1, 2010. Information about programs supporting hospitals to meet these requirements is available here.

Infection Prevention is Coalition's Top Priority
Based on the CDC estimates of infections nationally, patients in the commonwealth of Massachusetts are suffering more than 45,000 hospital-acquired infections each year, and nearly 2,000 deaths as a result of these infections. Successful implementation of safe practices to prevent these infections might save up to an estimated 200-400 million dollars annually in healthcare costs, and more importantly reduce the human suffering of patients and families from the death and disability resulting from these infections.

The Coalition is working with Massachusetts hospitals to eliminate hospital-acquired infections in acute care hospitals. The Coalition's goal is elimination of the most common, fatal and costly hospital-acquired infections in hospitals throughout Massachusetts. The Coalition has 100 percent participation in this initiative from hospitals in Massachusetts. The initiatiave includes eliminating ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-associated blood stream infections and to reduce hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a hazardous drug resistant form of this infection known as MRSA.

Click to learn more.

Medication Safety
To promote patient safety statewide, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Medical Society and with support from the Commonwealth’s Betsy Lehman Center, has created a patient medication list (the Med List) that patients and their families should carry to medical visits and share with their healthcare provider.  Patients on warfarin will find this tool particularly helpful in tracking medications.

Click here for more information and to download a free Med List (print to complete with pencil or download, save, and update electronically as needed).

Coalition's Consumer Brochure

English Online Version

Consumer Guide The Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors has developed a consumer guide that encourages patients to become "part of the health care team" along with their physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, to prevent medication mistakes. The guide was developed in conjunction with the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Family-Centered Care and is based on input solicited from patients, families, and health care professionals. The brochure is also available in Spanish. For more information, contact: MA Coalition Phone:  781-262-6080 Email: macoalition@macoalition.org Click here to download the brochure order form

Spanish OnlineVersion

Coalition Initiatives

Listed below are links to the Coalition's Initiatives in the prevention of medical errors:

• Elimination Of Hospital-Acquired Infections In Acute Care Hospitals
• Anticoagulation Medication Safety
• Medication List
• Reconciling Medications
• Inpatient and Consumer Medication Safety
• Reducing Medication Errors in Long Term Care Facilities - Best Practices
• Communicating Critical Test Results
• Treatment and Prophylaxis of DVT and VTE
• Defining Accountability in Patient Safety
• Reducing Restraint & Seclusion Use
• Reporting Requirements
• Educational Programs

Coalition Recognition

Massachusetts Medical Law Reports 2008 RX for Excellence Award
Massachusetts Medical Law Reports Rx for Excellence Awards honor the people and organizations in Massachusetts health care that demonstrate the highest standards to ensure safety in the care or products they provide to patients, or to teach others what they can do to improve safety and manage risk in the health care profession. The Coalition received  a Leaders in Quality award in September 2008.

Joint Commission 2005 National Patient Safety Goals include Coalition initiatives:
The National Patient Safety Goals established by the Joint Commission for 2005 for hospitals nationally included  new standards for the two topics which were already the focus of statewide patient safety initiatives sponsored by the Coalition and Massachusetts Hospital Association - Reconciling Medications and Communicating Critical Test Results. The safe practices and toolkits for these topics may be found on the Initiatives page.