Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Regulating Health Care
Lecture:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Slide content:The Joint Commission Safety Initiatives - 2 Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person Surgery Pre-surgery verification Site marking Time out before an incision is made The Speak Up Initiative Encourages patients to participate in their care Free patient education materials 22
Slide notes:The Universal Protocol is an initiative designed to prevent surgical errors. An important part of the protocol is for health care professionals to conduct a pre-procedure verification process, making sure that they have the right patient, that they plan to conduct the right procedure, and that they plan to operate on the correct sitefor example, the patients left leg, not the right leg. Other steps in the Universal Protocol are to mark the intended site of the surgery and for the surgical team to take a time out before making any incision. During the time out, the team members communicate with one another and verify once again that they have the correct patient and the correct surgical site, and that all agree about what procedure they are about to perform. The Speak Up Initiative encourages patients to take an active role in the decisions that are made about their health care. Patients are urged to speak up if they have a question or concern, and to educate themselves about their disease and the medications they take. The program provides educational materials for patients on topics including surgery, infection prevention, medication safety, medical tests, and patient rights. Speak Up materials are free and can be downloaded from the Joint Commission website, which is listed in the References section of this presentation. 22