National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) Online Orientation -the purpose is to improve patient safety -the goals focus on problems in health care safety and how to solve them

2 National Patient Safety Goals -set forth by The Joint Commission Identify patients correctly Improve staff communication Use medications safely Reduce harm associated with clinical alarm systems Prevent infection Identify patient safety risks Prevent errors in surgery

3 Identify patients correctly Use at least two ways to identify patients. –Name and date of birth This is done to make sure the correct patient gets the intened medications and treatments

4 Improve staff communications Use a standardized approach to “hand off” communications –ISBARQ: nurse to nurse, nurse to physician Introduce yourself Situation of patient Background conditions and what has been done Assessment of patient Recommendations Questions Ensure rapid communication of critical results –So important test results are reported immediately to caregiver for action

5 Use Medication Safely Annual review and updated list of look-alike, sound alike medications Patients receiving anticoagulation medicines (i.e., Heparin, Warfarin, & Lovenox) must have appropriate ongoing monitoring –Order sets should be used –Record and pass along correct information about patient’s medicines Label all medicines that are not already labeled –Syringes –Cups –Basins

6 Reduce harm associated with clinical alarm systems Improve the safety of clinical alarm systems Identify alarms and prioritize action to alarms Clinical and physician input to develop the most appropriate use of alarm system and parameters

7 Prevent Infection Use safe hand hygiene principles –Wash hands often and/ or use alcohol based hand gels as appropriate Use proven guidelines to prevent infections that are difficulty to treat –Blood stream infections –Multi drug resistant organism infections –Central line associated blood stream infections Use safe practices to prevent surgical site infections –Pre operative bathing –Antibiotic protocols Use proven guidelines to prevent infections from urinary tract caused by catheters –CAUTI (Catheter Acquired Urinary Tract Infections) –prevention bundles

8 Identify patient safety risks Conduct assessments upon entry into the organization to identify patient at risk for suicide –Screening done with admission –Assessments called to physician

9 Prevent errors in surgery Universal Protocol –Pre-verification process before surgery begins –Surgeon marks the part/ site of the body where the surgery will be done –Patient must be involved in the process –Process will occur in the operating room or at the bedside –TIME OUT is performed immediately prior to the start of surgery or procedure