A 10-Rights framework for patient care quality and safety

Recent reports in the lay and professional press document the failings of our patient care systems and have led to a multitude of suggestions for patient care quality and safety improvement initiatives. Given the complexity and range of services being offered, hospitals are launching numerous improvement initiatives in nearly all clinical care and support areas. This article describes a quality improvement framework, the "10 Rights," designed to help leaders better understand, organize, and prioritize patient care quality and safety issues and approaches. In addition to describing the framework, each Right is linked to 3 current national efforts at enhancing patient care quality and safety: the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' National Patient Safety Goals, the National Quality Forum 30 Safe Practices, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Quality Measures.