Patients Urged to “Speak Up” for Safety
edited by Herman Rosen, M.D.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that evaluates and accredits 18,000 health care organizations and laboratories in the US. This includes almost 11,000 hospitals and home care organizations, that depend upon JCAHO approval so they can receive Medicare and other insurance fees. The nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care, was founded in 1951. It seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public.

The Illinois-based organization is currently launching a campaign to get patients involved in preventing health care errors, “Everyone has a role to play in preventing health care errors,” says Dennis S. O’Leary, M.D., President, JCAHO. “Physicians, health care executives, nurses and other health care workers are already working hard to address this on-going problem. It is now time for patients themselves to become part of this effort.” The magnitude of this problem was pointed out in a 1999 report of the prestigious Institute of Medicine, suggesting that errors in health care may be responsible for 98,000 deaths annually. While some progress has been made in reducing this toll, there is evidence that errors continue to endanger patients.

The program sponsored by the JCAHO encourages patients to become involved, informed and active members of the health care team, to help prevent errors. They are urged to “Speak Up:”

Speak up if you have questions or concerns, and if you don’t understand, ask again. It’s your body and you have a right to know.

Pay attention to the care you are receiving. Make sure you’re getting the right treatments and medications by the right health care professionals. Don’t assume anything.

Educate yourself about your diagnosis, the medical tests you are undergoing, and your treatment plan.

Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate.

Know what medications you take and why you take them. Medication errors are the most common health care errors.

Use a hospital, clinic, surgery center, or other type of health care organization that has undergone a rigorous on-site evaluation against established state-of-the-art quality and safety standards, such as that provided by JCAHO.

Participate in all decisions about your treatment. You are the center of the health care team.

JCAHO also maintains a comprehensive database on adverse events caused by medical errors, including detailed information on their underlying causes. The information is a basis for the JCAHO’s issuance of alerts to health care organizations offering practical advice on how to avoid specific kinds of errors.

Specific information for patients to help make their health care safe can be obtained on the JCAHO website, www. jcaho.org or by calling 630-792-5800.#

Dr. Herman Rosen is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

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