The Joint Commission Webinar, held Tuesday February 17, 2009 "Call to Action: Improving Care to Communication Vulnerable Patients" is available to you as an audio file. <click here> In the webinar, we discussed simple strategies to help incorporate "patient communication" into routine practice.

The Joint Commission has posted a Hospital Field Review notice for Proposed Requirements to Advance Effective Communication, Cultural Competency, and Patient-Centered Care, which can be accessed at <click here>.  The Joint Commission has identified a need to provide hospitals with more guidance on how to address the diverse populations they serve.  Please take a moment to review these proposed requirements and provide comments as you see fit.  Comments are being received by The Joint Commission for a period of six weeks beginning on June 8, 2009. Field Review ended on July 31.

Help your institution meet The Joint Commission's Standard of Care RI.01.01.01 and the 2009 Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals by establishing effective patient communication with the EZ Board by Vidatak.

Since January 2006, The Joint Commission has required hospitals and other health care organizations to document each patient's language and communication needs in the patient's medical record, along with other key patient information.

The Joint Commission said it hopes the revised record of care standard (RC.02.01.01, EP1) will allow the patient's language and communication needs "to be easily shared across the continuum of care," noting research shows language and cultural differences can affect the quality and safety of care.

This focus on patient safety and dignity is reinforced in The Joint Commission's Standard of Care for the Hospital Program, RI.01.01.01, EP 5,  stating, "The hospital respects the patient's right to and need for communication." Also, RI.01.01.03, EP3, which states “The hospital communicates with the patient who has vision, speech, hearing, or cognitive impairments in a manner that meets the patient’s needs."