The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals
HLT 308V Week 4 DQ 1
The Joint Commission introduced the National Patient Safety Goals to address patient safety issues within health care organizations. Determine three patient safety issues that are being addressed by your health care organization. Identify the actions the organization is taking or identify three issues that you think need to be addressed by health care organizations. Make suggestion for actions to be taken. Support your responses with two peer-reviewed references.
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The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals
Introduction
The Joint Commission is a national organization that sets quality standards for health care organizations. One of its goals is to improve patient safety by reducing the risk of harm to patients and their families. This goal applies to all types of health care facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies.
Improve the accuracy of patient identification
The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals include a goal to improve the accuracy of patient identification. This is essential for patient safety because it allows healthcare professionals to more accurately treat their patients, who are more likely to benefit from receiving treatment that is tailored to their specific needs.
Incorrectly identifying patients can lead to medication errors or other safety issues such as wrong procedures or wrong doses given at the wrong time. There are several ways you can identify a patient: name, date of birth, medical record number (MRN), bracelet number (BRN), wristband number (WRBN).
Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers
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Ensure that patients and caregivers communicate effectively with each other about their healthcare needs and concerns
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Promote the use of language common to all healthcare team members, including:
a) terms that are familiar to patients, such as “pain” or “discomfort”;
b) terms specific to a particular health care setting (e.g., hospital vs community practice);
c) medical words, abbreviations and acronyms with definitions provided in an accessible format (e.g., ICD-9-CM codes).
Improve the safety of using medications
The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) include improving the safety of health care delivery by addressing: Improving medication administration and reconciliation.
Improving medication administration records.
Providing medication safety alerts to patients, caregivers and family members before dangerous drug interactions occur or when a patient receives an unexpected drug interaction during hospitalization or on discharge from a hospital.
Improve the safety of using medical devices
The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals are designed to improve the safety of using medical devices. These goals can be applied to any type of device, including:
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Devices used in the operating room (OR) and other surgical settings
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Devices used in the emergency department (ED) and other health care settings that provide care for patients with life-threatening injuries or illnesses
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Intravenous infusion pumps and infusion sets that deliver drugs into a patient’s bloodstream
Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections
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Hand hygiene is the single most important measure for reducing health care-associated infections, and it’s also one of the most easily overlooked. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), handwashing with soap and water reduces transmission by more than 90 percent.
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Proper technique matters too: use all five fingers to wash your hands with soap, not just two fingers or one finger alone; scrub vigorously for at least 20 seconds; rinse well under warm running water; dry thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer if possible—all before touching anything else!
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A variety of products can help you maintain good hygiene practices: alcohol-based hand rubs containing chlorhexidine show promise in reducing infection rates among nursing home residents who received them daily during their stay there compared with those who didn’t receive any treatment at all (1). In addition there are several other products available including alcohol swabs that contain 0% ethanol solution instead of water which may reduce bacterial growth on skin surfaces where contamination has occurred (2).
Reduce the risk of patient harm associated with falls
The Joint Commission’s goals focus on reducing the risk of patient harm associated with falls, which can occur as a result of a number of factors including:
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Patient, family and caregiver education
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Physical environment (such as patient positioning)
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Patient mobility management (such as how to get up from bed or chair)
To achieve these goals, you must consider the following: Risk assessment and intervention—this involves assessing your own facility’s current injury and safety data; identifying existing hazards; developing an action plan for improving safety; implementing procedures designed to reduce risks; conducting periodic reviews to evaluate progress toward meeting both short-term goals and long-term outcomes. Patient safety program evaluation – This includes measuring effectiveness through surveys conducted by staff members at each participating site.
Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from pressure ulcers
Pressure ulcers are a common, serious problem. They can occur as a result of prolonged bed rest or other circumstances where the body’s ability to move and protect itself is compromised.
Pressure ulcers are preventable if you follow these simple steps:
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Keep your skin dry (no moisture). Moisture builds up under the skin and can cause bacteria to thrive in an environment that has been protected by clothing or bedding for long periods without being moved. Bacteria produce substances called toxins that damage tissue and eventually lead to infection if left untreated. To avoid this, remove wet clothes from the patient’s body before turning them inside out so there’s no moisture on their skin anymore; then apply an antiseptic cream/washcloth liberally throughout their body until completely dry before putting them back on again (this also helps prevent dehydration).
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Change sheets regularly (every day). Incontinence pads should be changed frequently so they’re not sitting against fecal matter which may contain germs capable of making someone sicker than they already are due to pressure caused by having something sticking out past normal sized toilet paper rolls.”
Improve patient and family engagement in their own care as a patient safety strategy
Patient and family engagement is a patient safety strategy to improve quality of care. It can help reduce the risk of harm or death, which is why it’s one of the National Patient Safety Goals.
The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals include improving patient and family engagement in their own care as a patient safety strategy.
Conclusion
We believe that the National Patient Safety Goals are a good strategy to help improve patient safety. They focus on the kinds of issues that patients face every day, but they also address some of the specific ways we can improve our care. We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and will be able to use these goals in your own practice!
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