Joint Commission Seeks Comment on 2010 Universal Protocol

• 8/26/2010
• Author: Jim Parker
• Category: Perspectives on Patient Safety Blog
• 6437 Views
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Accredited organizations now have the opportunity to tell The Joint Commission what they really think about the 2010 Universal Protocol.

The Joint Commission is seeking public feedback on the 2010 Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong-Site, Wrong-Procedure, and Wrong-Person Surgery™ for the Hospital, Critical Access Hospital, Ambulatory Care, and Office-based Surgery accreditation programs. Click here to view the Universal Protocol language.
The Universal Protocol first became effective in July 2004; it is designed to address the continuing occurrence of wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-person surgery.

The three principal components of the protocol include the following: 
1.      Conducting a preprocedure verification process
2.      Marking the procedure site
3.      Performing a time-out before the procedure.

The Universal Protocol in 2009 underwent extensive revisions based on feedback from a field review. Additional changes became effective January 1, 2010. The intent of the revisions is to address patient safety issues while allowing organizations flexibility in applying the requirements within existing work processes. Now, The Joint Commission would like additional feedback from organizations to ensure the revisions are meeting their needs.  To offer your feedback on the protocol, click here.