National Patient Safety Goals Flashcards, test questions and answers

Discover flashcards, test exam answers, and assignments to help you learn more about National Patient Safety Goals and other subjects. Don’t miss the chance to use them for more effective college education. Use our database of questions and answers on National Patient Safety Goals and get quick solutions for your test.

What is National Patient Safety Goals?

The National Patient Safety Goals are standards that are set by the Joint Commission, which is an independent organization whose purpose is to ensure and improve the safety, quality and availability of healthcare services in the United States. The National Patient Safety Goals were first introduced in 2002 and have been regularly updated ever since. They provide a framework for healthcare organizations to use when making decisions about patient safety initiatives. The goals are designed to reduce harm caused by preventable medical errors, communication failures, and inadequate prevention strategies. The National Patient Safety Goals cover a wide range of topics related to patient safety including: medication management, infection control, safe environment of care, health information technology (HIT), patient identification and matching systems, procedures for reporting adverse events or near misses as well as leadership engagement in quality improvement activities. One important goal is improving communication between healthcare providers and patients. This includes providing clear explanations of medical information to patients so they can make informed decisions about their care. It also includes developing strategies for improving communication between providers such as using standardized language when discussing treatments with patients or introducing protocols for transferring patient information between departments or hospitals. Another important goal is reducing harm associated with medications. This includes ensuring that medications are prescribed correctly by verifying a patient’s medication list prior to prescribing new medications; making sure that dosages are appropriate; utilizing computerized physician order entry systems; using barcode scanning technology on medications being administered; implementing drug-use evaluation processes; and encouraging safe disposal practices after treatment ends. Finally, one of the most important goals is identifying opportunities for improvement within healthcare organizations and implementing quality improvement processes such as root cause analysis (RCA) when necessary. RCA helps identify what went wrong during a particular event so that measures can be taken to prevent similar occurrences from happening again in the future. In addition to RCA, other quality improvement initiatives such as performance monitoring, data collection/analysis/reporting systems should also be used regularly in order to identify problems early on before they become full-blown crises later on down the line.