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How to comply with the National Patient Safety Goal on the use of patient Identifiers

Accreditation Connection, September 3, 2004

We asked accreditation and patient safety experts to share their compliance tips for the new goals. Here's what that they had to say about the National Patient Safety Goal on the use of patient Identifiers.

Goal #1a: The JCAHO clarifies that organizations must use at least two patient identifiers not only when administering medications, blood products, and taking blood samples and other specimens, but also for any other treatments or procedures.

Define the treatments and procedures for which you require staff to check two patient identifiers, says Brenda Gail Summers, MBA/MHA, MSN, RN, CNAA, senior consultant with the Marblehead, MA-based consulting firm, The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro.

Remember that identification applies to all procedures. It's not just for administering medicines or drawing blood, it's for administering any kind of blood products, says Sue Dill, RN, MSN, JD, vice president of legal services at Memorial Hospital of Union County in Marysville, OH.

Develop a valid measurement system to be sure your staff use two patient identifiers for all treatments and procedures, says Glenn D. Krasker, MHSA, president of Critical Management Solutions, a consulting firm that specializes in medical error risk reduction in Wilmington, DE. There are a number of approaches. One example: Have managers make rounds with staff members to observe their practice. Then track that practice over time. If you find your staff aren't living up to the goal, then you can figure out why and take corrective action.

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