Health care in Massachusetts is not as safe as it needs to be. Using insurance claims and survey data, we measured the financial and human cost of medical error and demonstrated the harmful impacts of these events. Read our research report, The Financial and Human Cost of Medical Error… and How Massachusetts Can Lead the Way in Patient Safety.

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Executive summary
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Key Findings

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Medical errors are frequent, harmful, and costly

We identified nearly 62,000 preventable harm events and more than $617 million in excess health care insurance claims — accounting for more than one percent of the state’s Total Health Care Expenditures for 2017

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Medical harm erodes public trust in health care

In addition to long-lasting physical, emotional, and financial harms, survey respondents who experienced a medical error report a loss of trust in providers and the health care system, and many avoid health care altogether.

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Communication matters

More than 60% of survey respondents were dissatisfied with the communication from their provider after the error. When providers communicate openly about errors, patients report lower levels of emotional harm.

Related News

Medical errors prevalent and costly, new survey of Massachusetts residents shows

Boston Globe

No drop in medical errors, but their human toll endures

CommonHealth WBUR

ssociation of open communication and the emotional and behavioural impact of medical error

BMJ Quality and Safety

What we’re doing about it

The Roadmap to Health Care Safety for Massachusetts is a strategic plan to propel investment, action, and transformative change. 

Learn more

Related Research

The Safety of Inpatient Health Care

New England Journal of Medicine

The Safety of Outpatient Health Care: Review of Electronic Health Records

Annals of Internal Medicine

The Public’s View on Medical Error in Massachusetts

Harvard School of Public Health

Patient Safety in the Commonwealth

RAND Corporation