PACT aims to improve implementation of Communication and Resolution Programs to compassionately respond to harm events
June 8, 2021 – Ariadne Labs, in partnership with the Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement (CAI), and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) today announced the launch of the PACT Collaborative: Pathway to Accountability, Compassion, and Transparency, a Breakthrough Series Collaborative of innovative health systems leading the way in consistently responding to harm events with integrity, empathy, and learning.
Communication and Resolution Programs (CRPs) provide a structured framework for health systems to interact respectfully and compassionately with patients or residents who have been harmed by their healthcare, recognizing that unanticipated outcomes can occur in the absence of error. While the use of CRP processes is growing substantially, comprehensive programs have not been scaled broadly, and their effectiveness is often undercut by inconsistent or incomplete implementation.
“Communicating transparently with patients and families at the time of a harm event has been shown to help prevent future errors, reduce risk to patients, and improve resiliency for physicians. Effectively implemented CRPs help ensure that these objectives are met,” said Evan Benjamin, MD, MS, FACP, Chief Medical Officer at Ariadne Labs. “Through this work, we’ll develop a network of system leaders who are supported and empowered in hardwiring these programs to improve safety and quality of care for patients everywhere.”
“PACT is an extremely important development in the field. It promises to help organizations that have begun implementing their CRP deploy new best practices that will ensure each and every patient harmed by healthcare benefits from the CRP approach,” notes Thomas H. Gallagher, MD, MACP, Executive Director of CAI. “High-functioning CRPs also ensure clinicians get the support they need after harm events, and benefit all of us by ensuring learning occurs after care breakdowns.”
Ariadne Labs, CAI, and IHI, three leaders in education, patient safety, and research, are partnering on PACT with the goal of supporting successful implementation and measurement of CRPs. PACT will provide participants with virtual learning sessions featuring new CRP tools and implementation content, coaching and facilitation to support change, and measurement strategies to ensure accountability and sustain results.
In its first offering, PACT will engage participants from 20 to 30 health systems and senior care facilities that have launched a CRP implementation but seek the support of the Collaborative to ensure its success. The Collaborative will launch in October 2021.
Ariadne, CAI, and IHI believe that delivering the highest quality healthcare is paramount. When harm occurs, it is critical that healthcare providers have an effective process in place. To learn more on how you can join us in helping healthcare organizations deliver high-quality, compassionate care, please visit our website at ariadnelabs.org/pact.
PACT is made possible in part through the generosity of major supporters Liberty Mutual Insurance and Constellation and from additional supporters including Hoot.
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Ariadne Labs is a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With a mission to save lives and reduce suffering, our vision is that health systems equitably deliver the best possible care for every patient, everywhere, every time. We use human centered design, health systems implementation science, public health expertise, and frontline clinical care experience to design, test and spread scalable systems-level solutions to some of healthcare’s biggest problems. From developing checklists and conversation guides to fostering international collaborations and establishing global standards of measurement, our work has been accessed in more than 165 countries, touching hundreds of millions of lives. Visit ariadnelabs.org to learn more and covid19.ariadnelabs.org to learn about our response to COVID-19.
The Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement (CAI) is a program of the University of Washington that serves to radically accelerate the adoption of CRPs, particularly through education, training, and support.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has used improvement science to advance and sustain better outcomes in health and healthcare across the world for over 25 years. IHI brings awareness of safety and quality to millions, accelerates learning and the systematic improvement of care, develops solutions to previously intractable challenges, and mobilizes health systems, communities, regions, and nations to reduce harm and deaths. IHI provides deep knowledge and leadership around improvement science and collaborative design.