National Patient Safety Goals

Each year, The Joint Commission collects insights on emerging patient safety issues from nationally recognized experts and key stakeholders. This information forms the foundation of the National Patient Safety Goals® (NPSGs), which are customized for each program. It also guides the development of sentinel event alerts, standards and survey processes, performance measures, and educational resources.

• Identify patients correctly – Use at least two ways to identify patients. For example, use the patient’s name and date of birth. This is done to make sure that each patient gets the correct medicine and treatment.
• Use medicines safely – Record and pass along correct information about a patient’s medicines. Find out what medicines the patient is taking. Compare those medicines to new medicines given to the patient. Give the patient written information about the medicines they need to take. Tell the patient it is important to bring their up-to-date list of medicines every time they visit a doctor.
• Prevent infection – Use the hand cleaning guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Set goals for improving hand cleaning. Use the goals to improve hand cleaning.
• Prevent patients from falling – Find out which patients are most likely to fall. For example, is the patient taking any medicines that might make them weak, dizzy or sleepy? Take action to prevent falls for these patients.
• Identify patient safety risks – Find out if there are any risks for patients who are getting oxygen. For example, fires in the patient›s home.