National Patient Safety Goals 2013: Universal Protocol

In 2002, the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) were formulated by the Joint Commission and became effective in January 2003. These goals were set up to help covered healthcare organizations identify and address specific issues relating to safety of patients.

Many times the safety of patients in healthcare organizations may be compromised. The purpose of NPSGs 2013 is to identify specific areas where this could happen and then address these issues by formulating goals to implement measures throughout the organization. Specific attention is given to properly identify the patient before administering medicines and performing procedures. Other areas of focus are infection prevention and good communication.

These goals are updates regularly to keep up with new developments. The updates are the responsibility of the Patient Safety Advisory Group. This group is comprised of skilled professionals working in different healthcare facilities and involved with patient safety matters. They include doctors, nurses, clinical engineers, pharmacists, and so on. Having such people on the advisory board enables accurate identification of risks and results in active contribution by all the healthcare organizations. The Patient Safety Advisory Group works in collaboration with the Joint Commission to identify new threats to patient safety. Once identified, they develop plans to address these threats. After carefully considering all the factors the Joint Commission uses the most effective approach to address the issues in order of priority.

A new addition to the NPSGs 2013 is the Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Person, Wrong Site, and Wrong Procedure Surgery. This universal protocol is related to all invasive procedures, whether surgical or non-surgical. It has been previously established that the most risky procedures are those that involve deep sedation or general anesthesia. Healthcare facilities can promote safety by accurately identifying the patient, the procedure, and the site of procedure.

These are the four principles of the Universal Protocol:

• Measures must be taken to prevent wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person surgeries.

• A powerful approach is needed that uses multiple strategies together to ensure that the correct procedure is being performed on the correct site of the correct person.

• It is essential that there is active participation of all the members of the surgical team for success. Effective methods for communication between all the members are also necessary.

• Implementation of standardized and reliable protocol is very effective in achieving patient safety.

Requirements of Universal Protocol:

• Verification process must be conducted before the procedure is commenced.

• Correctly identify and mark the procedure site.

• A time-out is carried out prior to the procedure.

Compliance with the NPSGs 2013 is essential for healthcare organizations in order to avoid severe penalties. Hence, employees are made aware of these goals through training and seminars so that they can comply with them and keep their patients safe.

Health care business and their staff and others can learn a lot more about the National Patient Safety Goals 2013,universal protocol for preventing wrong person, wrong site and wrong procedure surgery, by heading online today.