2010 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs)

The pre-publication versions of the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals posted here are also included in the October issue of Perspectives. Please note the following:

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 on-site survey, surveyors will not evaluate compliance with the requirements that have been deleted. Other changes will be effective January 1, 2010. Read the September 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 on-site 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 January 1, 2010, organizations will be expected to have fully implemented the requirements related to health care-associated infections (which were established with the 2009 NPSGs).

Back to 2010 National Patient Safety Goals