🌍 International Patient Safety Goals
(IPSGs)
1. ✅ Identify Patients Correctly
Definition: Ensuring that care, treatment, and services are provided to the correct patient.
Methods:
1. Use at least two identifiers – e.g., name & ID number, not room/bed number.
2. Confirm identity before giving medications, blood products, or procedures.
3. Apply ID bands for all inpatients.
4. Recheck identity before surgery and invasive procedures.
5. Educate patients to state their name/DOB when asked.
Rationale: Prevents wrong-patient errors (e.g., wrong medication, wrong surgery).
Nursing Role: Always verify using two identifiers, never assume, and cross-check with
prescription/chart.
2. 🗣️ Improve Effective Communication
Definition: Clear, accurate, timely communication among healthcare providers.
Strategies:
1. Use SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) during
handover.
2. Repeat-back/read-back verbal or telephone orders.
3. Avoid dangerous abbreviations (e.g., “U” for units).
4. Document care promptly and legibly.
5. Use standardized handoff tools.
Rationale: Miscommunication is a leading cause of medical errors.
Nursing Role: Ensure proper handover, clarify doubts, and communicate effectively with
team and patients.
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3. 💊 Improve Safety of High-Alert Medications
Definition: Medications that carry a higher risk of causing harm if used incorrectly (e.g.,
insulin, heparin, potassium chloride, chemotherapy drugs).
Safety measures:
1. Standardize labeling and storage of high-alert drugs.
2. Double-check dose and patient identity before administration.
3. Use tall-man lettering for look-alike/sound-alike drugs (e.g., hydrOXYzine vs
hydrALAzine).
4. Educate staff about high-risk drugs.
5. Restrict access (only authorized staff).
Rationale: Prevents severe medication errors like overdose, hypoglycemia, bleeding.
Nursing Role: Always double-check, clarify doubtful prescriptions, and monitor for
adverse effects.
4. 🔪 Ensure Safe Surgery
Definition: Preventing errors during surgery such as wrong site, wrong procedure, or
wrong patient.
WHO Surgical Safety Checklist:
● Before anesthesia (Sign In) → Confirm patient ID, site marking, consent, allergies.
● Before incision (Time Out) → Team verifies procedure, site, instruments,
antibiotics.
● Before leaving OR (Sign Out) → Count sponges/instruments, label specimens,
discuss recovery.
Rationale: Prevents “never events” (wrong site/side/patient surgeries).
Nursing Role: Verify consent, mark surgical site, assist in instrument count, maintain
sterile field.
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5. 🦠
Reduce the Risk of Healthcare-Associated
Infections (HAI)
Definition: Infections that patients acquire while receiving healthcare (e.g., CAUTI, VAP,
SSI).
Prevention:
1. Strict hand hygiene (WHO 5 Moments).
2. Use of PPE (gloves, masks, gowns).
3. Aseptic technique during invasive procedures.
4. Cleaning & sterilization of instruments.
5. Safe waste disposal.
6. Staff immunization.
Rationale: HAIs increase morbidity, mortality, hospital stay, and cost.
Nursing Role: Follow infection control protocols, educate patients and families, monitor
infection rates.
6. 🚶 Reduce the Risk of Patient Harm from Falls
Definition: Preventing patient injuries due to falls in hospitals.
Prevention:
1. Assess fall risk (Morse Fall Scale, Hendrich II).
2. Keep bed in lowest position with side rails.
3. Ensure adequate lighting in rooms and corridors.
4. Provide non-slip footwear.
5. Call bell within patient’s reach.
6. Educate family and caregivers.
7. Supervise high-risk patients (elderly, sedated, confused).
Rationale: Falls may cause fractures, head injuries, and prolonged hospitalization.
Nursing Role: Identify fall-risk patients, implement safety measures, and document
fall-prevention plan.
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7. ⏰ Reduce Harm Associated with Clinical Alarm
Systems
Definition: Ensuring alarms on monitoring equipment are properly managed to avoid
harm.
Risks: Alarm fatigue, false alarms, ignored alarms, equipment malfunction.
Prevention:
1. Set alarms to patient-specific parameters.
2. Regularly check and maintain equipment.
3. Educate staff about alarm management.
4. Do not disable alarms unless clinically necessary.
5. Respond promptly to alarms.
6. Minimize noise by adjusting volume appropriately.
Rationale: Delayed response to alarms may lead to missed critical events (cardiac arrest,
hypoxia).
Nursing Role: Monitor alarms continuously, ensure functionality, and respond without
delay.
✨ Summary (IPSG at a glance)
1. Correct Identification → Use 2 identifiers.
2. Effective Communication → SBAR, avoid abbreviations.
3. High-Alert Medication Safety → Double-check, restricted access.
4. Safe Surgery → WHO checklist (Sign In, Time Out, Sign Out).
5. Prevent HAI → Hand hygiene, aseptic technique.
6. Prevent Falls → Fall risk assessment, environment safety.
7. Alarm Safety → Patient-specific settings, prompt response.