JCAHO Releases 2006 Patient Safety Goals

JCAHO recently announced its 2006 National Patient Safety Goals, retaining the same six goals from 2005 while adding three new requirements and removing three others.

Additions include

• "New Requirement in all of the programs that "hand-offs" of patients between caregivers be standardized, with particular attention to assuring the opportunity for asking and responding to questions"
• "New Requirement for all types of accredited organizations which provide surgical or other invasive services, specifies that all medications, medication containers and other solutions used in perioperative settings are to be labeled"
• New Goals in other selected programs address the prevention of pressure ulcers and encourage the active involvement of patients and their families in the patient's care as a patient safety strategy

"The following requirements will be retired for all applicable accrediation programs in 2006:

• Elimination of the Requirement to remove concentrated electrolytes (including but not limited to potassium chloride, potassium phosphate, sodium chloride greater than 0.9 percent) from patient care units. This Requirement will continue to exist in relevant accreditation manuals.
• Retirement of a Requirement to ensure free-flow protection on all general-use and patient-controlled analgesia intravenous infusion pumps used in an organization. Compliance with this Requirement has been greater than 99 percent, and equipment manufacturing and availability issues for all health care setting have been satisfactorily resolved."

Full text of the 2006 Goals and Requirements can be found at the JCAHO site.