Health Policy Advisor Updated On Baystate’s Patient Safety Program

SPRINGFIELD – After learning about Baystate Health System’s leadership role in patient safety, Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, former deputy assistant secretary for health policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and current advisor to Congress, set up a meeting with health care quality experts at Baystate Medical Center to learn about its patient safety program.

Thorpe toured Baystate Medical Center on March 25 and met with Dr. Evan Benjamin, vice president for Health Care Quality at Baystate Health System, and other hospital leaders to learn about the work being done at Baystate to improve patient safety.

Thorpe, who is also chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., spent time at Baystate Medical Center learning about its Safety Reporting System (SRS), a customized electronic program that tracks safety events.

“What attracted me to Baystate was the state-of-the-art patient reporting system they have. I wanted to see it in action and learn what they are doing so that other hospitals around the country can learn and go in the same direction,” Thorpe said.

The advisor to Congress noted he was “impressed” by the automation system that allows people to pick up patterns and identify problems and correct them.

“I was also impressed by the interest and dedication of Baystate staff to want to identify problems and correct them,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe noted he will use the information gathered at Baystate Medical Center to educate others across the country.

“There are a lot of lessons to be learned here about how these systems can improve quality and decrease expenditures. I want to share this information with policy makers and hospitals nationwide,” he said.