Early impact from participating hospitals accelerates adoption as statewide program surpasses 50 hospitals

BOSTON, Mass. – March 5, 2026 – The I-PASS Patient Safety Institute and the Medical Professional Liability Association (MPL Association) today announced a strategic partnership to improve patient safety and reduce communication-related medical errors through the launch of a Healthcare Communications Improvement Initiative (HCII). The collaboration brings together the nation’s leading organization representing medical and hospital professional liability insurers, captives, and risk retention groups, with the gold standard for structured clinical handoff communication.

Communication breakdowns during patient handoffs are among the most common contributors to high-severity medical liability claims, exposing healthcare organizations to millions of dollars in preventable liability and simultaneously putting patients at risk. Through this new partnership, MPL Association members receive discounted access to the I-PASS methodology, providing hospitals, health systems, and self-insured organizations with a proven framework to strengthen care transitions and reduce key drivers of high-severity claims. The initiative also includes joint education, research, and thought leadership on the financial and risk-management impact of improved clinical communication.

“This partnership represents a significant opportunity to help our member companies add to their arsenal of proactive risk prevention tools and avoid reactive claims management," said Eric R. Anderson, President and CEO of the MPL Association. "By working with I-PASS, we offer our members new access to a practical, evidence-based solution that addresses one of the most persistent and costly contributing factors in high-severity claims: breakdowns in communication during patient handoffs. This is about providing the means to measurably reduce both patient harm and financial exposure.”

As part of the partnership, the MPL Association will launch an affinity program for its members, promote the HCII across its network, and collaborate with I-PASS on educational programming, pilot initiatives, and a joint white paper on the financial and risk management benefits of improved clinical communication. The organizations will also explore demonstration projects with self-insured healthcare systems to measure impact and develop case examples for broader adoption.

“I-PASS was built to solve one of healthcare’s most persistent problems: miscommunication during care transitions,” said Marshall Burkhart, CEO of the I-PASS Patient Safety Institute. “Partnering with the MPL Association allows us direct access to risk, claims, and captive leaders who witness the downstream effects of these failures every day. Together, we can help organizations adopt a structured approach that improves safety for patients while also reducing liability exposure.”

The partnership also includes joint conference programming and educational sessions for MPL Association members with a focus on strategies to reduce miscommunication during patient handoffs and improve clinical and financial outcomes.

For more information about the Healthcare Communications Improvement Initiative or to learn more about improving patient safety through better clinical care transitions, please contact info@ipassinstitute.com.

About I-PASS

The I-PASS Patient Safety Institute enables structured communications during clinical care transitions, and as a result, improves both patient safety and clinical outcomes. Founded by clinicians in 2016, the I-PASS Institute leverages expert mentorship paired with technology and digital tools to scale the I-PASS methodology. I-PASS is currently implemented in more than 100 healthcare institutions across the continuum of care. Learn more at www.ipassinstitute.com.

About the Medical Professional Liability Association

For almost 50 years, the MPL Association has represented the interests of insurance companies, risk retention groups, captives, trusts, and other entities with a commitment to the quality delivery of healthcare, patient safety, and fair tort reform. Association members insure nearly 2 million healthcare professionals around the world—doctors, dentists, surgeons, nurses, podiatrists, and other clinicians. In addition, members also globally insure more than 1,800 hospitals and 80,000 medical facilities and group practices.