Are Patients Safe

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Are Patients Safe James E. Scarbrough III Baker College of Cadillac Are Patients Safe Patient safety is an extremely valuable aspect in the health care. The definition of patient safety is an area focusing on reporting an error, analysis and prevention of medical errors that often lead to adverse patient outcomes. Prevention means keeping patients safe from errors rather than reacting to them. These standards in patient safety inspire the most challenging issues in the health care setting. Reviewing these standards annually and publishing them on The Joint Commission Website, it is a key component to improving health care (The Joint Commission, 2011). The Joint Commission website has the current National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for 2011. Established in 2002, NPSGs have addressed areas of concern in patient safety for the health care environment. In the past couple of years, these goals have undergone changes. These revisions have streamlined the performances, the standards of care for patients and eliminated certain requirements. Accuracy of patient identification by using two patient identifiers is to facilitate health care providers in patient identification. They accomplish this by asking name and date of birth ensuring they have the right patient. Improvement of communication to patients by expediting test results can enable them in serious health care decisions. This can alleviate their stress about tests that might involve threatening diseases. Having all medications labeled in containers will reduce medication errors for patients. This will help health care providers to see what is in each container, syringe and vial at all times. This goal is a crucial one in keeping medication errors to a minimum (The Joint commission, 2011). A vital area need for infection control is ensuring hand hygiene guidelines are strictly followed. This

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