Goal One

Identify patients correctly.

According to international patient safety goals, the first goal is to identify patients correctly. It is given
that we have to identify them correctly because it is our primary responsibility to match the correct
patients with the correct care. Moreover, if we fail to do so, it will result in medication errors,
incompatible transfusion reactions, failure to treat a serious illness, procedures being performed on the
wrong patient, etc. This is crucial in providing patient-centered care, coordination of care, and ensuring
their safety in order for us to have the best patient outcome as much as possible for each of them.
Therefore, if there is a wrong patient identification, the tendency could cause the loss of patients' lives,
especially if it is a serious one.

Goal Two

Improve effective communication.

The second goal is to improve effective communication because this goal can lead to several potential
long-term benefits between patients and healthcare team members of healthcare. We have been taught
effective communication ever since we were young because it is significant because it helps us form
good long-term relationships with others. Additionally, effective communication in healthcare ensures
healthcare workers have the correct information they need to perform their nursing interventions well,
builds a positive work environment with the patients as you increase the trust between you and your
patient, eliminates inefficiencies in endorsement and medication administration, and helps prevent
further injuries. Effective communication should accurately convey information about the patient,
procedure, and medication while maintaining relationships. Therefore, we need to always communicate
with clarity, accuracy, honesty with empathy, and always practice active listening skills.

Goal Three

Improve the safety of high-alert medications.

The third goal is to improve the safety of high-alert medications because high-alert medications are
drugs that have a heightened risk of causing harm to patients when they are used in error due to their
potency, dosing complexities, and the potential for confusion between some similar-sounding drug
names or packaging. The healthcare system employs several strategies, such as implementing safety
medication protocols, providing training and education, and fostering a culture that ensures safety and
encourages reporting and learning from medication errors. These efforts aim to reduce the risks
associated with these high-alert medications and ensure that patients will receive the right medication
at the right dose, frequency, and at the right time. Moreover, healthcare members have a legal and
ethical responsibility to provide safe and effective care to their patients. Therefore, failing to take
measures to improve the safety of high-alert medications can result in legal liability and ethical concerns
if they are harmed due to medication errors. Hence, by improving their safety, we can reduce the
occurrence of medication errors and their associated harm.

Goal Four

Ensure safe surgery.

The fourth goal is to ensure safe surgery because of its importance for several reasons, as surgery is a
complex medical procedure with inherent risks. To further explain its importance, the primary and most
critical reason for ensuring safe surgery is to protect the well-being and safety of the patient. This is
because surgery, be it minor or major, carries inherent risks, including infection, bleeding, complications
from anesthesia, and even surgical errors. If we improve safe surgery practices, this could lead to
improved surgical outcomes. Moreover, safe surgery practices increase patient trust in the healthcare
system. When patients have confidence that surgical procedures will be performed safely for them, they
are more likely to seek medical care.

Goal Five

Reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections.

The fifth goal is to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections because these infections are a
significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the healthcare system. To put it simply, healthcare-
associated infections are a threat to patient safety. The primary reason for reducing these infections is to
protect the well-being and safety of patients. Healthcare-associated infections can lead to serious
illnesses, complications, and even death, particularly among vulnerable patient populations such as
immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, and patients with underlying health conditions. So, to
reduce the risk of these infections, the hospital implements a range of infection control measures,
including hand hygiene protocols, proper sterilization and disinfection techniques, isolation precautions,
and continuous monitoring of infections. Hence, healthcare facilities can save lives and improve overall
patient outcomes.

Goal Six

Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.

The sixth goal is to reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls because you often see in hospitals
that there are some patients at risk for falls. The same particular reason applies to this goal for reducing
the risk is to protect the well-being and safety of patients. It is given to healthcare members to ensure
patient safety resulting from falls as it can lead to injuries ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures,
and head injuries. Therefore, preventing falls is essential to ensure that patients receive care without
experiencing harm during their stay at the hospital. Falls are becoming a leading cause of morbidity and
mortality especially among elderly and patients with certain medical conditions that are likely to fall
from their bed. So, the hospitals implement strategies that implement various strategies and one of
them is to do fall risk assessment and patient education ensuring their safety.