Complying with the 2008 National Patient Safety Goals

In 2003, the joint commission began publishing National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) and requiring accredited health care organizations to comply with these goals in an effort to reduce the number of medical errors. THE NPSGS are updated yearly with new requirements to promote specific improvements in patient safety. This article provides a review of the 2008 NPSGs and suggests ways in which information technology systems can address health care organizations' compliance with some of these goals.