I just wanted to let everyone know The Joint Commission has released an FAQ on National Patient Safety Goal NPSG.01.01.01. The FAQ looks at whether there are any exceptions for active involvement of the patient or responsible caregiver.
The FAQ specifically looks at sleeping patients and the nurse’s role in identifying non-communicative or confused patients when another healthcare worker uses two patient identifiers. The Joint Commission states that the purpose behind this is to increase patient safety through such things as medication, diagnostic, and treatment errors. The organization must decide how to assess sleeping/non-communicative/confused patients. The organization must also determine when active involvement is necessary on the part of the responsible nurse or other caregiver.
These decisions must, obviously, be communicated to the staff and be brought about specifically for reasons of patient safety.
The NPSG.01.01.01 FAQ can be found online here.
