Michigan Health & Safety Coalition

The Michigan Health and Safety Coalition (MH&SC) is a collaborative quality improvement effort focused on improving patient safety in Michigan.

Mission
To help improve healthcare quality in Michigan through cost-effective improvements in patient safety, including medical errors, across all healthcare settings.

Goals

• Provide leadership and share knowledge on patient safety issues in Michigan.
• Develop and/or support systemic approaches to identifying and learning from errors with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Encourage the establishment of performance standards for patient safety, medical error reporting and continuous improvement; and encourage the provision of positive incentives for improved performance.
• Support a culture of safety by encouraging the implementation of safety systems in healthcare organizations.

Membership
MH&SC membership is diverse, and includes representatives from healthcare plans, healthcare providers, and employer and union groups. The coalition anticipates the need to work with other entities and experts (academics, legislators, legal, systems, and data analysts) to carry out the actions specified by the coalition.

Activities
The coalition's work is focused on:

• A gap analysis, designed to identify existing knowledge and activities related to patient safety at the state and national levels;
• Patient safety initiatives that can be developed and implemented on a "fast-track," and that are being led by coalition members; and
• Coordination of patient safety activities with other groups - to help communicate issues related to patient safety to key stakeholders and the public and avoid duplication of effort.

For more information on the Michigan Health & Safety Coalition, please visit their Web site at www.mihealthandsafety.org.