Joint Commission Advocates for Medical Error Prevention

The alert lists 14 specific recommendations to leaders. One of these is creating a transparent environment that encourages reporting of near miss events and allows staff members to talk freely about the facility's trouble spots without being penalized.

Similar to this, the alert recommends leaders support staff members who are involved in a medical error by recognizing that errors are most often the result of system failures, rather than assigning blame to one or two people involved. Additionally, allowing involved staff members to participate in the route cause analysis and investigation will help prevent future errors.

However, the alert also recommends that leaders recognize the need to create a functioning disciplinary policy for those staff members who exhibit specific, defined behaviors.