September 5 , 2003

Patient safety comes first

As MGHers have been busy preparing for the survey of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which is scheduled for Sept. 15 to 19, the next in a series of FYI posters recently was distributed throughout the MGH. The FYI posters are a part of a hospitalwide campaign to provide important information to employees and staff in preparation for the upcoming survey.

These posters are one of the hospital's ways of communicating to MGHers the importance of patient safety and carry the message that it is vital to use at least two forms of patient identification. MGH caregivers can use such patient identifiers as a patient's name, address, unit number or social security number for verification.

"This important concept of careful confirmation of a patient's correct identity before undergoing treatment is one of the six patient safety goals established by JCAHO earlier this year," says Maryanne Spicer, director of MGH Compliance and chair of the hospitalwide JCAHO steering committee. "These goals target known vulnerabilities that may lead to errors. We, along with other hospitals nationwide, are working to embrace these concepts in an effort to continuously improve care."

In addition to the posters, FYI papers covering a variety of important hospital-related issues continue to be distributed throughout the hospital.For more information about how to prepare for the JCAHO survey, call (617) 726-5109 or visit the MGH JCAHO website at http://is.partners.org/jcaho/