March 27, 2002
Dana-Farber establishes Center for Patient Safety
Barbara Bierer, MD
In a move to weave patient protection further into its system of clinical care and research, Dana-Farber is establishing an on-site Center for Patient Safety.
The new center, which will build on many programs already under way here, will coordinate all activities involving patient safety at the Institute, says DFCI Chief Operations Officer Jim Conway. It is scheduled to open July 1.
Heading up the initiative will be Barbara Bierer, MD, who was a member of Dana-Farber's Department of Pediatric Oncology from 1984 to 1997. For the past four-and-a-half years, she has been chief of the Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Bierer's interest in safety issues is reflected in her past membership on Dana-Farber's Pediatric Scientific Review Committee, which considers the scientific soundness of clinical research, and her current position on the NHLBI's Institutional Review Board, which examines the patient protection and consent aspects of clinical studies. She also serves on the board of directors of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, a new body that reviews organizations conducting human research.
"As medicine moves forward, it's critical that patient safety be primary in people's minds — not only among caregivers, but researchers and educators as well," Bierer says. "At most medical centers, activities relating to patient safety — such as compliance with regulatory requirements, training, and reporting treatment errors — haven't been marshaled into one area. Dana-Farber is one of the first institutions to do that. We now have an opportunity to do research into safety programs that are likely to be effective in the future."
Point person
Conway, who has led Dana-Farber's patient-safety activities since becoming chief operations officer in 1995, and who has joined with other DFCI staff to make the Institute a national leader in error-reduction efforts, says the new center will have a broad set of responsibilities.
"We need a clinician-researcher who can devote his or her attention to safety issues in both the clinical and research settings," Conway remarks. "Dr. Bierer has strong credentials in this area. She will be working with people throughout the Institute, including patients and families, to give focus and direction to our patient-protection activities."
Equally important, says Dana-Farber President Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, is that the new institute will provide academic grounding for cancer patient safety research at Dana-Farber and throughout the Harvard system. "In our academic, discovery-driven environment, we must also foster research, education, and broadly based scholarship in the area of safety science," he remarks. "Research is critical to our efforts to devise better ways of maximizing patient safety."
Benz, who has made the creation of a senior position in patient protection one of his priorities as president, adds that the establishment of the new center will bolster Dana-Farber's leadership in the movement to reduce medical errors. "As the post-genomic era allows biology and medicine to become more potent, we need to take active measures to make our innovations and practices safe. Dana-Farber should strive to lead in the area of patient safety every bit as vigorously as we work to lead the way in discovery, care, and program innovation."
As director, Bierer will report to Benz and Conway and will co-chair the Patient Safety Oversight Committee, an anticipated new unit of DFCI's Medical Executive Committee. She'll lead efforts to write patient-safety goals for clinical research and care and develop training programs on the subject. She'll also be part of a team that represents Dana-Farber regionally and nationally in setting an agenda for patient safety.
"Part of my responsibilities will be to refine safety practices throughout Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare" (the joint program in adult oncology at Dana-Farber, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital), Bierer remarks. "I'll also be working with the Executive Committee of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center on programs that support the safety of patients involved in clinical trials.
"I'm looking forward to returning to Dana-Farber," she continues. "The Institute has really taken a leadership role in examining its practices and making the changes necessary to improve safety. It's exciting to be working with people who recognize the importance of this area."
(Inside the Institute, March 19, 2002)
