The Joint Commission is an independent, non-profit organization, which both accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs throughout the United States. In 2002, the committee established a set of goals known as the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program. The development of the NPSGs began with a panel of nurses, physicians, pharmacists, risk managers, clinical engineers and other professionals with adequate experience in the world of patient safety (“Facts about NPSGs”, 2015). This group of healthcare professionals collectively became the Patient Safety Advisory Group. Together, they worked with the Joint Commission to identify issues in patient safety and propose ideas on how to address them. Rooted to drive accredited
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Have recent medication safety changes in the emergency department had an impact on nurses ' medication safety practices? (Mattei, 2013). Data showed that 75% of nurses reported at least one barrier in taking their medication orders to the storage or preparation area when preparing their medications. However, 92.5% of nurses also reported making a change in their practice within the past 6-24 months in an effort to improve medication safety (Mattei, 2013). According to the data collected, changes in practice included “barcode scanning medications and intravenous fluids (92.6%), barcode scanning patient wristbands (91.6%), labeling medications (61.8%), using prefilled single dose medication syringes (80.9%), using an easy form for safety reporting (58.8%), and making a personal commitment to safety/culture change (61.8%)” (Mattei, 2013). Due to the widespread range of patient needs in the ED and the unpredictable nature of the setting, nurses are more likely to make medication errors. Nonetheless, by making the prevention of medication errors a priority in their practice, nurses can limit causes of medication errors such as “unclear directions, incomplete orders, lack of resources or information, similar drug packaging, drug names that sound alike, nurse fatigue and nurse interruptions” (Richardson, Bromirski, & Hayden,
Have recent medication safety changes in the emergency department had an impact on nurses ' medication safety practices? (Mattei, 2013). Data showed that 75% of nurses reported at least one barrier in taking their medication orders to the storage or preparation area when preparing their medications. However, 92.5% of nurses also reported making a change in their practice within the past 6-24 months in an effort to improve medication safety (Mattei, 2013). According to the data collected, changes in practice included “barcode scanning medications and intravenous fluids (92.6%), barcode scanning patient wristbands (91.6%), labeling medications (61.8%), using prefilled single dose medication syringes (80.9%), using an easy form for safety reporting (58.8%), and making a personal commitment to safety/culture change (61.8%)” (Mattei, 2013). Due to the widespread range of patient needs in the ED and the unpredictable nature of the setting, nurses are more likely to make medication errors. Nonetheless, by making the prevention of medication errors a priority in their practice, nurses can limit causes of medication errors such as “unclear directions, incomplete orders, lack of resources or information, similar drug packaging, drug names that sound alike, nurse fatigue and nurse interruptions” (Richardson, Bromirski, & Hayden,