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New Patient Safety Goals focus on infection prevention

Quality Improvement Monitor, August 8, 2008

Revised elements of performance (EP) for medication reconciliation and the Universal Protocol™ (UP) worry some in the field, but the addition of new requirements for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAI) has so far not stirred up a lot of angst.

Some safety advocates even say The Joint Commission’s new expectations for managing HAIs may lead to wider use of the same type of medical checklist that produced dramatic results in Michigan, where hospitals reduced catheter infections to zero and saved more than 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million.

In late June, The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) released its 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), which include three new requirements for infections:

 

  • NPSG.07.03.01: Prevention of HAIs resulting from multiple drug–resistant organisms (MDRO) using evidence-based practices (this applies, but is not limited, to methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus [MRSA], Clostridium difficile, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci)
  • NPSG.07.04.01: Prevention of central line–associated bloodstream infections using evidence-based practices

  • NPSG.07.05.01: Prevention of surgical site infections using evidence-based practices

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