The Joint Commission has elevated improving health care equity to a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) in a move that took effect July 1.
On TJC’s website, Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, MACP, FACMI, president and chief executive officer, stated “By elevating the existing standard to a National Patient Safety Goal, we are emphasizing the importance for health care organizations to ensure oversight and accountability for health care equity.”
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, “Under NPSG 16, accredited hospitals will still be required to focus on social disparities by identifying patients’ needs and disparities and developing a strategic plan to improve health equity in their organizations.”
There are 6 specific steps organizations are required to take, according to the TJC website:
- Identify an individual to lead activities to improve health care equity
- Assess the patient’s health-related social needs
- Analyze quality and safety data to identify disparities
- Develop an action plan to improve health care equity
- Take action when the organization does not meet the goals in its action plan
- Inform key stakeholders about progress to improve health care equity
A TJC R3 report explains: “Like medication errors, health care-acquired infections, and falls, health care disparities must be examined, the root causes understood, and the causes addressed with targeted interventions in order to improve health care equity.”
It can be nerve-wracking when any accrediting body makes a change. But this move resonated with practitioners when it was announced earlier this year. An article in the American Journal of Nursing stated that the commission’s perspective resonates with nurse leaders, and that “The commission’s rationale is also ingrained in nursing practice,” adding that it “emphasizes the need for health organizations to develop processes to move toward optimum care for all patients.”
Sign up for our newsletter
No spam, no annoying, no deficit perspectives
For many years, the healthcare professionals I know have been doing the day-to-day work of advancing health equity. It makes sense that accreditation processes recognize and legitimize this work. The NPSG also places health equity on even ground with TJC’s 7 other National Patient Safety Goals, such as medication safety, surgical error prevention, and staff communication.
One of interesting facets of this goal is how it answers a complaint I’ve heard about data collection and health equity. Namely, that organizations are gathering data, but not doing enough with it, and documenting disparities, but doing little to take meaningful action on them. I am hopeful that the health equity NPSG might be a catalyst for action that people have been waiting for. This 6 step process for this new NPSG does indicate a way to use data to drive action: to produce improvements.
The emphasis is on action, with plenty of accountability.
TJC is aware of the enormous variation across the organizations it services. That variation is reflected in the flexibility organizations have in how they pursue the goals and standards. Organizations, and departments within an organization, may also be at different points in their disparities-reduction initiatives, and health equity journey overall. This is also an important consideration in planning how to meet health equity goals.
Fortunately, there is a large body of knowledge on advancing health equity. We have tools, research, and proven approaches. When a Health Equity Lead creates a written action plan to address disparities, they have many options to choose from.
Leaders know it is important to choose tools that are applicable to the identified disparities, relevant to their specific organizational context, and action-oriented. The best leaders I know also insist on approaches that center the experiences of front-line staff.
Patient Education is a powerful tool to address health care disparities, because the effect of patient education on health outcomes is statistically significant and positive.
Our course Foundations of Equitable Patient Education provides staff with the education and training necessary to provide equitable care, treatment, and services. This course is about
- mitigating bias in patient education, at systems and individual levels
- identifying root causes of inequity in patient education, and
- integrating equity into patient education.
It also shows participants ways to take local action and share these actions through peer-to-peer learning.
“This is so needed! There are tons of tools and great information out there, but it takes a special skillset to translate that knowledge into practice.”
Foundations of Equitable Patient Education also
- integrates with existing quality improvement activities to connect your quality, safety, and equity efforts
- shows your team’s demonstrable action toward meeting goals in your health equity strategic plan
- supports internal DEI efforts
This hybrid live and recorded course is for anyone whose professional responsibilities include direct patient education.
This course was real-world tested and iterated over 5 years with input from medical staff, public health professionals, hospital staff, health professions students, community health workers and medical educators.
This includes patient educators across multiple settings, whether hospital based, home-based, community-based, or telehealth
For more information, visit our FAQ page or fill in the form below.
