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The JCAHO approves 2005 National Patient Safety Goals

Case Management Weekly, August 2, 2004

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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) has approved new National Patient Safety Goals for 2005. The new goals include a requirement for reporting critical test results and lab values, calling on organizations to measure, assess, and take action to improve the timeliness of reporting these results to the appropriate licensed caregiver. Also included in the goals is a requirement for hospitals to accurately and completely reconcile medications across the care continuum, and a requirement for facilities to communicate the patient's complete list of medications to the next provider of service whenever referring or transferring the patient to another setting, service, practitioner, or level within or outside the organization.

The JCAHO will likely put the new goals into effect on January 1, 2005. Surveyors will expect organizations in January to have "addressed" the goals, and will expect organizations that are surveyed in February and beyond to have complied with them since January 1, 2005, according to a JCAHO source.

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