About Us
JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals for 2006
Ensuring Patient Safety
BMH has been taking great steps toward preventing medical errors and making the hospital as safe as possible for our patients by implementing the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s (JCAHO) National Patient Safety Goals.
Those goals include:
Goal 1: Improve the accuracy of patient identification.
Our goal at BMH is to provide safe care and to minimize medical errors. One way that we do this is to confirm that we are providing the right patient with the right service or treatment. Before providing treatment or doing a test, we use two identifiers to ensure we are providing safe and accurate care.
Goal 2: Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.
Some of the most common medical errors occur when there is a lack of communication among caregivers about a procedure, medications, or other information. Goal two of JCAHO’s National Patient Safety Goals effectively addresses these issues. Beaufort Memorial Hospital continually works to improve the communication between our caregivers.
When a physician gives a nurse a verbal order or uses the phone to call in an order to a nurse, the order is written down then read back and confirmed by the physician. (This does not apply in an emergency situation!)
We also write down reports of critical test values and read them back for confirmation. When a caregiver receives a critical test result or lab value our goal is to quickly contact the physician with the information.
To ensure the continuity and safety of our patient’s care, when the care of a patient is handed off from one caregiver to another they meet to discuss the patient’s condition and plan of care.
In addition to taking steps to double-check orders before processing them, BMH has developed a list of abbreviations to NOT use. We are proud of the commitment our employees have to providing outstanding patient care.
Goal 3: Improve the safety of using medications.
Goals three of the National Patient Safety Goal addresses another critical area of care: medication.
Beaufort Memorial Hospital continuously works to increase medication and patient safety.
In 2002, the pharmacy spearheaded the installation of the Pyxis Profile System, that makes patient specific medications available on the nursing floor. We also provide a review of medication orders by a pharmacist before the orders are carried out 24 hours a day.
In January 2003, we started conducting an independent double-check of all high-alert medications before these medications are given to our patients.
In 2004 a national patient safety goal requested that all hospitals remove concentrated electrolytes from patient care areas. We are proud to report that our hospital addressed the removal of concentrated electrolytes from patient care areas many years ago.
Our pharmacy and P&T Committee continually work to standardize and limit the number of drug concentrations available at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. They also review our medications to identify look-alike / sound-alike drugs and then take action to prevent errors involving the interchange of these drugs.
In 2005 we reviewed our processes throughout the hospital to ensure all medication, medication containers or other solutions are always labeled with identifying information.
We also respond immediately to all sentinel alerts issued by the Joint Commission. These alerts provide up to date information on errors that have occurred in hospitals throughout the United States. We immediately work to ensure that Beaufort Memorial Hospital complies with all suggested improvements.
Goal 4: Reduce the risk of health care-acquired infections
Washing your hands is the number one method of reducing infections. Beaufort Memorial complies with current CDC hand-hygiene guidelines. If your hands are visibly soiled, wash them with soap and water for at least 15 seconds. If hands are not visibly soiled, we may use alcohol-based hand rub.
We manage as sentinel events all identified cases of unanticipated death or permanent loss of function associated with health care-acquired infection. We conduct an intensive, in depth investigation that results in implementing a corrective action plan.
Goal 5: Accurately
and completely reconcile medications across the continuum
of care
This goal requires that hospitals:
- Involve the patient upon admission in obtaining and documenting a complete list of his or her current medications.
- Compare the medications that the hospital provides with those on the list.
- Communicate the patient’s complete list of medications to the next provider of service whenever referring or transferring the patient to another setting, service, practitioner, or level of care within or outside the organization.
Throughout 2005 Beaufort Memorial Hospital worked to streamline and automate our medication reconciliation process. We also participate in the statewide initiative to provide patients with a standardized Universal Medication Form. When an inpatient is discharged from BMH we provide them with their updated Universal Medication Form. This form shows all the medications that they are currently taking. We encourage all our employees and patients to keep their Universal Medication Form on them at all times and to keep it updated.
Goal 6: Reduce the risk of patient harm from falls
We have implemented a fall reduction program. We assess and periodically reassess each patient’s risk for falling. These assessments include the potential fall risk associated with the patient’s medication regimen. We then take action to address any identified risks.
If you have questions about JCAHO’s National Patient Safety Goals, please call Leslie Suda at 522-5649. If you have infection-control questions call Bev Yoder at 522-5004.
