Accreditation

Define what "critical test result" means in your organization.

Accreditation Connection, January 14, 2005

Define what "critical test result" means in your organization to help comply with the JCAHO's National Patient Safety Goal, say experts Glenn D. Krasker, MHSA, and Della M. Lin, MD.

"The JCAHO points out that it is up to individual organizations to define a critical test result, and that the term will typically include stat tests, panic value reports, and other diagnostic test results that require urgent response," Krasker and Lin write in their new book, The JCAHO 2005 National Patient Safety Goals: Successful Strategies for Compliance, published by HCPro.

It makes sense to simply include all test results reported verbally or by telephone. The JCAHO will then hold an organization accountable for complying with its own list. If your organization has not defined what it considers to be critical test results, the surveyor will expect to see that all verbal or telephone reports of diagnostic tests have been read back. In addition to laboratory testing, this safety goal requirement applies to all diagnostic tests such as radiology or imaging studies, electrocardiograms, and pulmonary function tests.

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