Looking ahead, select one area of the current National Patient Safety Goals program and make a prediction as to what might change in that area based on technological or other advancements. Consider patient identification standards, communication processes, and infection control protocols, among others.
You are required to use and cite a minimum of two references to support your response.
Solution
The National Patient Safety Goals program includes the safe use, handling, distributing, and monitoring of medications (The Joint Commission. (n.d.). Medications play a huge role in the health care system. Medications are the backbone of treatment, but at the same time, a large component of adverse events. The right medication can cause a severe reaction if given in the wrong dose, route, or in conjunction with something else. The right medication can cause a severe reaction due to an allergy or a pre-existing condition. Lastly, the wrong medication can have a severe reaction and cause delay of patient care. Any of these events can result in serious harm or death of a patient, so medication safety is outlined with high importance in the National Patient Safety Goals. In the future, technology advancements and health care trends will make a difference on medication safety. I predict two examples of this will be artificial intelligence and genetic testing. Artificial intelligence has the ability to detect medication errors that may be missed by humans (Bates & Sakuma, 2024). Genetic testing has the ability to prevent medication reactions by determining what genetic conditions are causing people to react to certain drug groups the way they do (Bates & Sakuma, 2024).
Bates, D. W., Sakuma, M. (2024). Improving medication safety in both adults and children: what will it take?
https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/33/10/619
The Joint Commission. (n.d.). 2025 National Patient Safety Goals.
https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/
