2013 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals

The Joint Commission has issued its 2013 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals.

Find them here.
The purpose of the National Patient Safety Goals is to improve patient safety. As stated by the Commission, the goals focus on problems in health care and how to solve them.

For 2013, the goals include –

Identify patients correctly. NPSG.01.01.01: “Use at least two ways to identify patients. For example, use the patient’s name and date of birth. This is done to make sure that each patient gets the correct medicine and treatment.”

Prevent infection. NPSG.07.01.01: “Use the hand cleaning guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Set goals for improving hand cleaning. Use the goals to improve hand cleaning.”