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Defining Accountability in Patient Safety

Project Background


Defining Accountability in Patient Safety

The membership of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors see the need to create a shared understanding in healthcare of the accountability of the individual health care professional and the responsibility of the system of care.

The Coalition is planning to hold a series of facilitated workshops that will include representatives from the many constituencies in the Coalition as well as national experts who represent legal, ethical, social, and cognitive science perspectives on the topic of accountability relationships and the ultimate goal of preventing medical errors. The purpose of this series will be to permit health care leaders to effectively raise, discuss, and create resolutions regarding their shared goal of enhancing patient safety.

The goals of the series are to:

  • Understand the range of perspectives in the analysis of harm and the assignment of accountability; identify the approaches used by health care organizations and by regulatory agencies
  • Review the literature on the topic of professional accountability, responsibility, and competence
  • Develop a common framework that could be used by healthcare organizations and by regulatory agencies in assigning accountability to individuals and to systems of care
  • Define action steps for healthcare organizations, regulatory agencies and others that would move toward adoption of this framework to enhance patient safety.

Enabling Safer Health Care

Workshop Agenda

Dana Farber Cancer Institute - Principles of a Fair and Just Culture

For more information, contact:
Paula Griswold
Phone: 781-262-6081
Email: pgriswold@macoalition.org

Literature Review 2003

Literature Review 2003 - Accountability for Patient Safety: A Review of Cases, Concepts, and Practices

Final Report of The Accountability Project May 2007

Final Report of The Accountability Project May 2007

Current Context of Accountability Project

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