National Patient Safety Goals Paper

It is critical to have a good understanding of the importance of risk reduction, patient safety promotion, and infection prevention and control. The Joint Commission has formulated the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) in order to provide standards that should be followed by healthcare organizations. In other words, healthcare organizations must meet NPSG in order to achieve Joint Commission accreditation. As the National Patient Safety Goals for hospitals are designed to promote patient safety, it is very important to implement or sustain these Goals in any healthcare organization.National Patient Safety Goals Paper

Each of the six National Patient Safety Goals for hospitals plays an important role in establishing risk reduction, patient safety promotion, and infection prevention and control (The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals, 2018).

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Goal 1:Improve the accuracy of patient identification

It is required to use at least two patient identifiers when providing care and healthcare services in hospitals, offering the proper treatment options. Patient identification procedure is necessary for patients because it helps to matching the patient to the proper treatment. It should be performed routinely in all hospitals. According to experts, the occurrence of any risks to patient safety is caused by mismatching between the patient and care components, such as diagnostic, therapeutic or supportive components (Parisi, 2003). This goal is important in the promotion of patient safety because it allows hospitals providing the proper control of the required treatment process and its outcomes and avoiding wrong healthcare procedures, medication and transfusion errors and diagnostic testing failures.National Patient Safety Goals Paper

Goal 2: Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers

It is required to report accurate information about the critical results of different  tests and diagnostic procedures on a timely basis because due to effective communication, it is possible to guarantee high quality services (Nadzam, 2009). According to researchers, “staff must know how to communicate effectively and work collaboratively in teams so that appropriate information is shared in a timely manner” (Nadzam, 2009, p. 184). Hence, this goal is important in the promotion of patient safety because effective communication affects the quality of patient care.

Goal 3:Improve the safety of using medications

It is required to label all medications and medication containers in order to ensure patient safety through sterile procedures. Due attention should be paid to reduction of the incidence of the acts that lead to patient harm caused by the use of anticoagulation therapy. It is required to maintain safety of using medications and communicate accurate medication information regarding patient’s health status (Murphy, 2014).

Goal 6:Use alarms safely

As clinical alarm systems play an important role in establishing safe care and services, it is requires to use innovations to address the needs of patients more effectively. Alarms help caregivers to obtain valuable information about the potential patient problems, therefore, the proper management practices are necessary to avoid compromising patient safety. Alarm signals should be easy to detect to guarantee patient safety (Graham et al., 2010).

Goal 7: Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections

It is required to comply with the guidelines provided by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure hand hygiene procedures in hospitals. Also, special attention should be paid to implementation of evidence-based practices that can be useful in “prevention of health care-associated infections due to multi-drug resistant organisms in acute care hospitals”, as well as other types of infections in health care settings (Murphy, 2014). It is required to provide surveillance in hospitals using indwelling catheters to ensure patient safety. National Patient Safety Goals Paper

It is required to identify those patients who have mental problems and who are at risk for suicide. Besides, identification of the risks relevant to performance of home care oxygen therapy is another requirement for hospitals to ensure patient safety. According to researchers, “multiple approaches using combinations of the proper methods should be used to increase identification of risks and hazards of health care associated injury or harm to patients” (Battles & Lilford, 2003, p. 2).

Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure

The major requirements include conducting a pre-procedure verification process, marking the procedure site and performing a time-out before the procedure (Murphy, 2014). This goal was initiated to ensure patient safety through prevention of wrong actions, procedures and behaviours of the staff.

This goal is important in the promotion of patient safety because it allows hospitals to strengthen control over the key procedures and ensure prevention of medical errors in healthcare settings (Saufl, 2004). National Patient Safety Goals Paper

Actually, healthcare organizations could make changes in their environment in order to conform to the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals. These changes should be made in the areas of concern and in organizational culture. There are several potential barriers that could be anticipated meeting in implanting or sustaining these Goals, including poor organizational communication, lack of collaboration between staff members and insufficient resources to meet the needs of staff and patients. These Goals would affect patients and families in the course of care because patient safety guarantees positive health outcomes, while the absence or poor compliance with these Goals does not provide positive conditions for patient recovery (The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals, 2018).

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals help healthcare organizations to promote patient safety and increase the quality of healthcare services provided to patients. These Goals are critical for hospitals because they allow the staff to become more competent in professional activities and build trust with patients and their families.National Patient Safety Goals Paper