National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG)

A set of safety guidelines established by The Joint Commission to improve patient safety in healthcare organizations and enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

 

Patient Safety Culture:

The shared values, beliefs, and behaviors within a healthcare organization that prioritize patient safety and encourage reporting of errors or near misses.

 

Error Reporting System:

A mechanism within healthcare organizations for reporting errors, incidents, or near misses anonymously or non-punitively, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement.

 

Medication Reconciliation:

The process of comparing a patient’s current medications to the medications ordered during a transition of care, such as admission, transfer, or discharge, to avoid medication errors.

 

Alarm Management:

Strategies and protocols implemented to ensure that alarms on medical devices are accurate, relevant, and attended to promptly, reducing alarm fatigue and improving patient safety.

 

Handoff Communication:

The transfer of patient information and responsibility between healthcare providers during transitions of care, aiming to prevent communication errors that could impact patient safety.

 

Fall Prevention:

Initiatives and protocols aimed at reducing the risk of patient falls, including assessments, interventions, and education to enhance safety in healthcare settings.

 

Infection Prevention:

Practices and protocols implemented to prevent the spread of infections within healthcare settings, including hand hygiene, isolation precautions, and environmental controls.

 

Patient Identification:

Protocols and procedures to ensure accurate patient identification throughout the entire healthcare process, minimizing the risk of errors related to patient misidentification.

 

Clinical Alarms:

Auditory or visual signals produced by medical devices to alert healthcare providers to changes in a patient’s condition, with a focus on managing alarms to improve response times.

 

Universal Protocol:

A set of standardized safety measures, including pre-procedure verification, site marking, and a time-out before the start of a procedure, designed to prevent wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person errors.