2008 National Patient Safety Goals Released by Joint Commission
The Joint Commission recently issued its 2008 National Patient Safety Goals -- its sixth installment of annual goals that must be met by each health care organization seeking accreditation. The Joint Commission is a U.S.-based nonprofit that monitors patient safety in health care facilities through a review process that includes unannounced, comprehensive site inspections. The U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) views Joint Commission accreditation as the equivalent of having met the safety standards necessary to receive payment from the the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The organization publicly releases its annual standards and safety goals to help foster transparency in the process of ensuring patient safety.
Updates for this year include a mandate to reduce injuries stemming from blood-thinning medications, and a requirement that standardized procedures be created to enable care givers to request and obtain expert assistance when a patient's condition first begins to deteriorate. An existing requirement to assure the timely reporting of laboratory test results has also been extended to apply to long-term care facilities. Each requirement has a 1-year phase-in period, complete with defined milestones. The changes must be fully implemented by January 2009.
Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles on:
- The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's "Five Million Lives Campaign"
- Preventing medication errors by reconciliation
- OB/GYN laboratory errors
- What you can do to help prevent medical errors
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