Good practice examples needed to establish database - Brief Article

AORN Journal, March, 2002

Joint Commission Resources, a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), has issued a call to action for hospitals to submit good practice examples related to patient safety, sentinel events, staffing, care of patients, and performance improvement, according to a Jan 10, 2002, news release from JCAHO. Examples submitted will be used to establish a good practices subscription database, which will debut online this year.

This database initially will be limited to hospitals. A pilot project for ambulatory, long-term care, and home care organizations is scheduled for 2003. The purpose of the database is to allow health care organizations to learn from the success of others and to improve their services.

Submitted examples should include the following information:

* staff involvement,

* tools and resources used,

* how the example was implemented,

* how success was measured, and

* lessons learned or recommendations.

In addition to this information, the database will include advice, comments, and additional information resources from JCAHO experts.

Examples must be developed fully by the submitting organization and must represent intellectually independent work. Examples that refer to for-sale products or equipment will not be accepted. Only examples from JCAHO-accredited organizations will be considered.

Joint Commission Resources Issues Call to Action for Hospitals' Good Practice Examples (news release, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Jan 10, 2002) http://www .jcaho.org/news/nb355.html (accessed 22 Jan 2002).