One of three institutions to receive a project grant, Brigham and Women's hopes to build upon other hospital initiatives to improve patient safety. The Center of Excellence for Patient Safety Research and Practice's main goal is to improve medication safety across a variety of clinical settings and various patient populations through six research projects. The Center will disseminate widely its tools and the ongoing results of its research on a local, national, and international level.

Although the Center of Excellence is headquartered at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a number of area institutions including: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Children's Hospital, McLean Hospital, and University of Massachusetts Medical Center are also involved in the collaborative efforts of the Center. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has committed $5 million of their 2001 patient safety directed funding to support this Center over a 5-year period.

The research projects within the Center include:

• Evaluating Tools that Facilitate Reporting, Surveillance, and the Analysis of Medical Errors/Adverse Events;
• Ambulatory Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events in Pediatrics;
• Epidemiology and Prevention of Medication Errors in Psychiatric Inpatients;
• Safe Intravenous Infusion Systems;
• Improving Safety with Anticoagulation in the Nursing Home;
• The Role of Organizational Culture in Promoting Patient Safety.

To learn more about the Center of Excellence for Patient Safety Research and Practice, please visit our website at www.coesafety.bwh.harvard.edu