Joint Commission to add new patient safety chapter to manual

Starting on January 1, 2015, The Joint Commission’s Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals will include a new Patient Safety Systems (PS) chapter that aims to highlight the accreditor’s patient safety requirements, according to The Source. The chapter will not include new standards or requirements.

The PS chapter will include sections on becoming a learning organization, the role of hospital leaders in patient safety, use of data and reporting systems, conducting proactive risk assessments, and patient involvement.

Also for 2015, The Joint Commission has redesigned its sentinel event (SE) chapter and rewritten its definition of sentinel events. The revision describes sentinel events as patient safety events that are not primarily related to the patient’s illness or underlying condition.