[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":1668,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"New guidance from the Joint Commission focuses on ways to consider when relying on human or technology factors to positively identify patients.

Issues related to misidentification affect patient safety\u2014for example, entering data into the wrong patient record, comingling patient information, assigning a test to the wrong person and misdiagnosis, among other perils.

\u201cTechnology alone cannot ensure accurate information,\u201d says Gerald Castro, project director of patient safety initiatives at the Joint Commission. \u201cWe must consider not only the technology but also the people involved and their processes.\u201d

Castro also calls for healthcare professionals to receive adequate training and to conduct reliable procedures, contending that accurate patient identification is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders. Further, the guidance reminds providers and others that the first National Safety Goal is to improve the accuracy of patient identification.

The Joint Commission guidance lists nine recommended safety actions covering issues such as limiting distractions, using two identifiers to match the patient, standardizing identification, capturing of patient information no matter where registration occurs, and ordering patient information the same way, such as last name, first name and middle initial.

\u201cIf your organization uses automatic identification and data capture technologies\u2014bar coding, biometric scanners, or radio-frequency identification\u2014develop procedures to use these technologies to facilitate and enhance accurate patient identification,\u201d the Commission counsels. \u201cTrain staff on these procedures.\u201d

The full guidance is available here<\/a>.
","saveContent":"New guidance from the Joint Commission focuses on ways to consider when relying on human or technology factors to positively identify patients.

Issues related to misidentification affect patient safety\u2014for example, entering data into the wrong patient record, comingling patient information, assigning a test to the wrong person and misdiagnosis, among other perils.

\u201cTechnology alone cannot ensure accurate information,\u201d says Gerald Castro, project director of patient safety initiatives at the Joint Commission. \u201cWe must consider not only the technology but also the people involved and their processes.\u201d

Castro also calls for healthcare professionals to receive adequate training and to conduct reliable procedures, contending that accurate patient identification is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders. Further, the guidance reminds providers and others that the first National Safety Goal is to improve the accuracy of patient identification.

Joint Commission issues recommendations to solve patient ID issues

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