Patient Safety & Health Care

Although the health care industry is grounded in the preservation of health and wellness, patients are exposed to many safety hazards that pervade health care environments. In order for medical facilities, such as hospitals and doctors' offices, to effectively secure patient safety, they must identify and eliminate known hazards.

Types

• Health care environments breed infectious germs, and patients can easily contract contagious illnesses if facilities do not have adequate cleaning and disinfecting procedures. It is also imperative that facilities adhere to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) standards for needle-stick prevention and disposal of sharps, so that patients are not accidentally stuck by used needles.

Function

• OSHA safety standards must be adopted by health care organizations, so that they can create policies and procedures based on federal regulations. Policies and procedures serve as guidelines to medical personnel so that they know what to do, or what to avoid, in order to maintain a safe environment for patients.

Considerations

• The Joint Commission is an organization dedicated to continuously improving health care settings so that patients may receive safe, quality care. As such, the commission's accreditation process serves as a risk-reduction system for health care facilities. Becoming accredited by the Joint Commission indicates that an organization has immaculate systems and processes in place for securing patient safety.