Consider These Facts About The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals

Patient Access is well aware of the National Patient Safety Goals, particularly those identified in NAHAM’s Joint Commission Survey Tool Kit.

So it is worth the reminder how these goals are developed and put into place.  Below are excerpts from a Joint Commission Fact Sheet: “Facts about the National Patient Safety Goals”:

In 2002, The Joint Commission established its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program; the first set of NPSGs was effective January 1, 2003. The NPSGs were established to help accredited organizations address specific areas of concern in regard to patient safety.

A panel of widely recognized patient safety experts advise The Joint Commission on the development and updating of NPSGs. This panel, called the Patient Safety Advisory Group, is composed of nurses, physicians, pharmacists, risk managers, clinical engineers and other professionals who have hands-on experience in addressing patient safety issues in a wide variety of health care settings. The Patient Safety Advisory Group works with Joint Commission staff to identify emerging patient safety issues, and advises The Joint Commission on how to address those issues in NPSGs, Sentinel Event Alerts, standards and survey processes, performance measures, educational materials, and Center for Transforming Healthcare projects. Following a solicitation of input from practitioners, provider organizations, purchasers, consumer groups, and other stakeholders, The Joint Commission determines the highest priority patient safety issues and how best to address them. The Joint Commission also determines whether a NPSG is applicable to a specific accreditation program and, if so, tailors the goal to be program-specific.

The National Patient Safety Goals for each program and more information are available on The Joint Commission website found here: http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspx