The Joint Commission's 2020 patient safety goals went into effect Jan. 1.
The four goals are:
1. Identify patients correctly. The Joint Commission recommends organizations identify patients in at least two ways to ensure they receive the correct treatment.
2. Prevent surgical mistakes. Marking the correct spot on a patient's body and pausing before the surgery begins are two ways to reduce or prevent surgical mistakes, according to the Joint Commission.
3. Use safe medication practices. Labeling medicines before a procedure, exercising extra precaution with blood thinners and recording the medicines a patient is taking ensure that practices are using medications safely.
4. Use guidelines to prevent infection. Adhering to hand-washing guidelines from the CDC and others can help prevent infection.
Read more here.