Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety

What Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety does

The Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety is a Massachusetts state government agency that works with healthcare providers, patients, and policymakers to reduce preventable medical harm across all healthcare settings. Established by the legislature in 2004 and reestablished in 2012 under Chapter 224 as an independent entity within the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), the Center is governed by a board that includes the state Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. It employs approximately 17 staff and is funded through state appropriations rather than commercial revenue. Its core constituents are Massachusetts hospitals, clinicians, patients and families, and state and federal policymakers.

The Center operates four core programs: (1) CARe (Communication, Apology and Resolution), a model for responding to adverse events; (2) Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), which build hospital capacity for patient engagement; (3) Peer Support networks for both healthcare professionals and patients/families who have experienced harm; and (4) Maternal Health initiatives, where the Center serves as data custodian for the Perinatal-Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN) across all 40 state birthing hospitals. Its most strategically significant bet is an 18-month automated EHR adverse event monitoring (AAEM) pilot launched in 2024 with Pascal Metrics Inc. — a first-in-the-nation deployment aimed at detecting patient harm in near real time. The Center's research portfolio underpins all of this work: a 2025 update estimated 179,478 annual patient harm events costing Massachusetts payers $2.14 billion (of which $446 million was paid by MassHealth), and the 2023 Roadmap to Health Care Safety — developed through a Consortium of 35+ organizations and 115+ contributors — provides the strategic framework.

Commercially, the Center does not sell products or license technology. It distributes services at no direct cost through technical assistance, public reports, training, and data-sharing agreements. Pricing is fully subsidized by state appropriations; for the AAEM pilot, the Center covers Pascal Metrics' fees on behalf of participating hospitals. Distribution runs through direct technical assistance, the Consortium, and public web resources (website, Patient Safety Beat newsletter, LinkedIn/Facebook/YouTube channels, and earned media). Its strategic reach is concentrated entirely within Massachusetts.

Name

Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety

Legal name

Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety

Website

https://betsylehmancenterma.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety is a Massachusetts state government agency that uses research, programs, and statewide coordination to reduce preventable medical harm in hospitals and other healthcare settings across the Commonwealth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Patient Safety Services

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Incident Management (BPAIAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Communicable Disease Control Programs (TB, HIV/STIs, Hepatitis) (BPAIAJAH)

Keywords

• Patient safety
• Healthcare quality improvement
• Medical error prevention
• Adverse event monitoring
• Healthcare workforce support

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Government Funding: The Betsy Lehman Center is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, funded through state government appropriations. The Center operates as part of the Massachusetts state government structure, initially established within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services in 2004 and reestablished as an independent entity within the Center for Health Information and Analysis in 2012 under Chapter 224.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety is a Massachusetts state government agency that uses communications, data, research, and programs to reduce preventable patient harm in healthcare settings. It convenes providers, patients, and policymakers through programs including peer support for clinicians and patients, Communication, Apology and Resolution (CARe), Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), and a pilot for Automated EHR Adverse Event Monitoring (AAEM) using electronic health record data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Patient Safety Beat: The email newsletter of the Betsy Lehman Center reporting on healthcare safety news and updates on progress across Massachusetts.
• CARe (Communication, Apology and Resolution)
• PFAC (Patient and Family Advisory Councils)
• Virtual Peer Support Network
• Patient and Family Peer Support Network

Products and services

• Communication, Apology and Resolution (CARe) Program
• Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Early-adopter hospitals using automated monitoring achieved approximately 25% overall reduction in patient harm, and 60-80% reduction in certain types of harm
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Pascal Metrics Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024The Center contracted with Pascal Metrics Inc., which hosts a federally listed Patient Safety Organization (PSO) and is a leader in automated adverse event monitoring (AAEM). The Center covers the cost of Pascal Metrics' services for participating hospitals during the 18-month pilot of 6-8 organizations. Early-adopter hospitals using this technology have achieved unprecedented reductions in patient harm.
• Perinatal-Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts (PNQIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPNQIN facilitates widespread use of Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) safety bundles in Massachusetts hospitals. The Center serves as data custodian for PNQIN, collecting and analyzing metrics on severe maternal morbidity, statewide levels of care, and safety bundles.
• Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIM offers evidence-informed practice-based toolkits (safety bundles) for improving maternal health safety outcomes. PNQIN and the Betsy Lehman Center support Massachusetts hospitals in implementing AIM bundles including perinatal mental health, opioid use disorder, obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension, and maternal equity.
• Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical ErrorsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaula Griswold, MS, Executive Director of the MA Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, serves on the advisory committee for the automated EHR adverse event monitoring pilot.
• University of Massachusetts Lowell Safe Home Care ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Center partnered with UMass Lowell Safe Home Care Project to produce video and safety handbook resources for preparing homes for safe home care, and to study the effectiveness of these materials.
• Ariadne LabsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAriadne Labs leads TeamBirth, which facilitates shared decision-making through structured communication between patients and care teams. Massachusetts hospitals use TeamBirth to support implementation of the maternal equity bundle.
• FrameWorks InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Center partnered with FrameWorks Institute to conduct research on how to change how people think and talk about patient safety as a public health issue.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAHRQ-funded initiatives including the Improving Cancer Diagnosis Center of Excellence. Tejal Gandhi, Chief Safety and Transformation Officer at Press Ganey and former AHRQ leader, serves on the AAEM advisory committee.
• Massachusetts Department of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Center partners with DPH on maternal health initiatives including the Maternal Health Task Force, levels of maternal care implementation, and regulatory updates. Kiame Mahaniah, Secretary of Health and Human Services, is on the Board.
• MassHealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassHealth is a key partner in maternal health initiatives. The Center estimates $446 million of the $2.14 billion in harm costs were paid by MassHealth, and the AAEM pilot aims to reduce costs for MassHealth members.
• Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAndrew Jackmauh, Executive Director of CHIA, serves on the Board. The Center was reestablished as an independent entity within CHIA in 2012 under Chapter 224. CHIA collects hospital discharge data used for maternal morbidity analysis.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ECRI Institute: Independent nonprofit focused on healthcare safety, evidence-based medicine, and technology hazards; runs a federally listed PSO and provides patient safety guidance to providers — overlapping with Betsy Lehman's adverse event monitoring and best-practices dissemination roles.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Federal agency that funds patient safety research, develops toolkits (e.g., CANDOR — referenced in Betsy Lehman's CARe work), and sets national patient safety standards. Betsy Lehman's advisory committee includes former AHRQ leaders, indicating close programmatic overlap.
• National Quality Forum (NQF): National consensus-builder for healthcare performance measurement and patient safety standards. Comparable convening function and policy translation role, but operates at the national level rather than within a single state.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): National nonprofit driving healthcare quality and safety improvement through campaigns, curricula, and convening. Comparable as a coordinating/educational body, but operates nationally and across conditions rather than being state-mandated.
• Joint Commission: National hospital accreditor setting patient safety standards, conducting sentinel event reviews, and driving safety culture. Comparable mission of advancing healthcare safety, but operates through accreditation rather than state convening.

Regional players

• California Department of Public Health: California's state public health agency with regulatory authority over hospital safety reporting and adverse event oversight. Comparable in coordinating statewide patient safety policy and provider accountability in a different geography.

Direct peers

• CRICO Strategies: The patient safety and risk-management arm of the Harvard medical institutions' captive malpractice insurer; operates a federally listed PSO and uses EHR-based adverse event detection — directly comparable to Pascal Metrics' role in Betsy Lehman's AAEM pilot.
• Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority: Pennsylvania's independent state-level agency focused on reducing and eliminating medical errors through mandatory event reporting, data analysis, and provider education — the closest structural analog to Betsy Lehman Center, operating with similar statutory authority in a single state.

Others

• Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine: National nonprofit focused specifically on diagnostic error reduction — Betsy Lehman's Patient Safety Beat editor Susan Carr works with this organization. Comparable as a niche patient safety stakeholder addressing one of the Center's published best-practices areas.

Emerging players

• Pascal Metrics Inc. Federally listed Patient Safety Organization and technology partner for Betsy Lehman's AAEM pilot, providing automated EHR adverse event monitoring infrastructure. Functions as the Center's technical backbone for its flagship innovation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7VABZzR8h91waGcXaBRTkw
• Facebookfacebook.com/BetsyLehmanCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thebetsylehmancenter
• Xx.com/BetsyLehmanCtr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety