Accreditation

JCAHO announces 2006 NPSGs

Briefings on The Joint Commission, July 1, 2005

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'Hand-offs' and med labeling to be required

Learning objectives: After reading this article, you will be able to

1. identify the JCAHO's two new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) requirements for 2006

2. explain why it is important to continue to focus on the 2005 NPSGs

Hospitals have two new NPSGs requirements to implement by January 1, 2006.

The JCAHO released its annual list of goals for each accreditation program, including hospitals, on May 31. For each program, the accreditor assigned two new goals or requirements and retired two goals or requirements into its standards manuals.

For hospitals, the new goal requirements are as follows:

  • Goal 2 (improve communication among caregivers) requirement 2E --"Implement a standardized approach to 'hand-off' communications, including an opportunity to ask and respond to questions"
  • Goal 3 (improve medication safety) requirement 3D --"Label all medications, medication containers (e.g., syringes, medicine cups, basins), or other solutions on and off the sterile field in perioperative and other procedural settings"

    And the two retirements--one goal requirement and one entire goal and its only requirement--for hospitals are as follows:

  • Goal 3 requirement 3A-- Remove all concentrated electrolytes from patient units.
  • Goal 5 (improve infusion pump safety) and requirement 5A-- All general-use and patient-controlled analgesia intravenous infusion pumps have free-flow protection.

    • This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Briefings on The Joint Commission.

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