2010 National Patient Safety Goals Announced

The Joint Commission is making available pre-publication versions of the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals; these goals do not include scoring information, service applicability, or final editorial changes that may be made. Final versions of the NPSGs will be posted on the Joint Commission Web site in late September.

The Joint Commission has revised the 2010 NPSGs and some changes are effective immediately. The changes were made partly in response to concerns from the field about the resources needed to comply with NPSGs that have become more specific and detailed over time. The revisions include clarifying and streamlining certain EPs, as well as deleting some requirements and moving others to the standards. For the remainder of 2009, during the onsite survey, surveyors will not evaluate compliance with the requirements that have been deleted. Other changes will be effective Jan. 1, 2010. Read the Sept. 9, 2009 issue of Joint Commission Online for more information about these changes.

The Universal Protocol has also been revised and some changes are effective immediately. For the remainder of 2009, during the onsite survey, surveyors will not evaluate compliance with the following requirements that were eliminated or substantially modified:  UP.01.01.01 EPs 1, 2; UP.01.02.01 EPs 1, 2, 3, 7; UP.01.03.01 EPs 1, 5, 6. Other changes will be effective January 1, 2010. (These EPs are the 2009 NPSG numbers; the EPs for the 2010 versions were renumbered because some EPs were deleted or moved. The 2009 numbers reflected here are in the 2009 print manual and the current 2009 E-dition.)

Based on the recent decision to limit Disease-Specific Care certification to programs in Joint Commission accredited organizations only, the parent organizations of DSC programs will be responsible for making sure that the DSC program meets applicable NPSGs. The DSC program will no longer have its own set of NPSGs.

While no new NPSGs have been developed for 2010, on Jan. 1, 2010, organizations will be expected to have fully implemented the requirements related to healthcare-associated infections (which were established with the 2009 NPSGs).

For the pre-publication versions of the NPSGs, CLICK HERE.