The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are yearly directives designed to prevent medical errors and improve the quality of care provided across the United States. These goals represent a national framework for addressing the most common and persistent safety problems encountered in healthcare. By focusing on systemic improvements, the NPSGs standardize processes that directly affect patient well-being. They serve as a mechanism for healthcare organizations to continually elevate their performance against a national safety standard.
The Authority Behind the Goals
The organization responsible for establishing the National Patient Safety Goals is The Joint Commission (TJC), an independent, non-profit entity that accredits and certifies healthcare organizations and programs. TJC developed the NPSGs in 2002 as a direct response to concerns about preventable medical harm in the United States. The goals are updated annually to reflect current risks and evolving best practices in patient care.
Development of these directives involves a rigorous process incorporating external expertise and data analysis. The Joint Commission consults a dedicated Patient Safety Advisory Group, a panel comprising physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinical professionals. This group reviews data, including information from sentinel events—unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury—to identify emerging or persistent safety issues. The final goals are formulated based on this expert input and evidence-based solutions to address the highest-priority concerns.
Current National Patient Safety Priorities
A core goal is to improve the accuracy of patient identification to ensure every patient receives the correct medication, treatment, or procedure. This is achieved by requiring caregivers to use at least two distinct identifiers, such as the patient’s name and date of birth, before providing care. Misidentification is a common root cause of errors, so this standardized check acts as a crucial barrier to harm.
Another element is improving the effectiveness of communication among caregivers. This goal focuses on ensuring that important patient information, particularly the results of tests or diagnostic procedures, reaches the appropriate staff member in a timely manner. Delays or miscommunication regarding these results can lead to delayed diagnoses or incorrect treatment plans.
The safety of using medications is a consistent focus, emphasizing processes like medication labeling and reconciliation. Medications must be clearly labeled, especially in procedural settings where they are prepared away from their original packaging, like in syringes or basins. Medication reconciliation requires comparing the patient’s home medication list with the new orders at every transition of care, such as admission or discharge, to prevent dangerous omissions or duplications.
Preventing surgical mistakes is addressed through specific protocols designed to ensure the correct surgery is performed on the correct patient and at the correct body location. Before an incision, the team must conduct a pre-procedure verification process, mark the surgical site, and perform a mandatory “time-out” to confirm all details are accurate. This universal protocol reduces the risk of wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person surgeries.
Reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is a primary objective. The main strategy to combat HAIs involves strict adherence to hand hygiene guidelines, typically those established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Facilities must also set goals for improving hand cleaning compliance and monitor their progress.
Identifying patient safety risks inherent in the patient population is also addressed, focusing on reducing the risk of suicide in patients receiving behavioral health services. Healthcare organizations must assess all patients for their risk of self-harm and implement specific, evidence-based precautions tailored to the level of risk identified. This systematic screening is designed to protect vulnerable individuals during their stay.
How Goals Are Applied in Healthcare
Compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals is a requirement for a healthcare organization to achieve and maintain accreditation from The Joint Commission. This accreditation is often a prerequisite for receiving reimbursement from federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid, making adherence to the NPSGs financially and operationally imperative. The goals provide a common set of safety benchmarks that facilities must integrate into their daily operations.
TJC enforces compliance through unannounced on-site accreditation surveys, which occur every three years. During these surveys, reviewers use methods like “tracers,” following a patient’s experience through the entire system, to observe staff adherence to the NPSGs in real-time. This process allows surveyors to evaluate not just the existence of safety policies, but also their actual implementation and effectiveness.
The application of the goals is tailored to the specific environment of care, recognizing that risks vary across different settings. While goals like patient identification and communication are universal, specific directives are modified for hospitals, ambulatory care centers, or nursing care centers. For example, surgical safety protocols are emphasized in hospital settings, while fall reduction strategies are more prominent in long-term care facilities.