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JCAHO Creates International Center For Patient Safety
http://www.jcaho.com/news+room/news+release+archives/jci.htm

Media contact:
Charlene Hill
Media Relations Manager
630.792.5175
E-mail: chill@... (jcaho.org)

(OAKBROOK TERRACE and OAK BROOK, Ill. – March 11, 2005) The Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Joint
Commission Resources (JCR) today announced plans to establish the
Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety and the
appointment of Peter B. Angood, M.D., as chief patient safety officer
and co-leader of this major new undertaking. The announcement
coincides with National Patient Safety Awareness Week which concludes
on March 12.

The launching of the Center marks the 10-year anniversary of an
intense Joint Commission effort to improve patient safety through a
wide array of initiatives. Beyond the progressive elaboration of
patient safety standards, the Joint Commission has amassed a unique
database of over 3,000 sentinel events and the results of related
root cause analyses. The latter information has served as the
principal basis for the Joint Commission's widely recognized Sentinel
Event Alerts and the more recent development and annual issuance of
National Patient Safety Goals. In addition, the Joint Commission has
developed a soon-to-be-published patient safety taxonomy that is
currently progressing through the National Quality Forum's consensus
development process, and is also being considered by the World Health
Organization as the potential platform for creation of an
international taxonomy for patient safety. Further, through its
award-winning Speak UpTM Campaign, the Joint Commission has
encouraged patients to take an active role in preventing medical
errors and adverse events. Speak Up initiatives have thus far
addressed avoidance of medication errors, prevention of wrong site
surgery, and protection of living organ donors, among other subjects.

"We feel that much progress has been made in improving patient safety
over the past decade, but we are far closer to the beginning of the
journey than we are to the end," says Dennis S. O'Leary, M.D.,
president, Joint Commission. "If our efforts are being recognized,
that simply means that we must do much more."

Indeed, a November 2004 Health Affairs article cites the Joint
Commission as "the most important driver of progress in patient
safety." However, that article and similar analyses conclude that
unanticipated adverse events in health care remain a serious and
unsolved problem across the country.

"In establishing the new Center for Patient Safety, the Joint
Commission and Joint Commission Resources are re-committing
themselves to achieving major improvements in patient safety," says
Karen H. Timmons, CEO, Joint Commission Resources. "The primary role
of JCR will be to serve as the knowledge disseminator in all areas of
patient safety, both nationally and internationally."

The Center's initial efforts will focus on the identification,
gathering, analysis, and dissemination of patient safety solutions,
both in this country and abroad, and upon the creation of
organization cultures of safety which embrace continuous attention to
safety-focused, systems improvement efforts. These are seen as the
most significant near-term opportunities for achieving major
advancements in patient safety.

The new Center for Patient Safety plans to launch its website in
early April. Meanwhile, a high-level international advisory group is
being constituted. Regional advisory groups in strategic locations
around the world will complement this effort.

In his role as chief patient safety officer, Angood will work with
the Center's other two principals, Richard Croteau, M.D., and Laura
Botwinick, and will work with critical resource groups across the
Joint Commission and JCR to integrate existing patient safety
initiatives and products, and begin to develop a database of patient
safety solutions. Croteau is executive director for Strategic
Initiatives at the Joint Commission and was the creator of its
Sentinel Event Database. Botwinick is currently on leave from the
Joint Commission as a George W. Merck Fellow at the Institute for
Healthcare Improvement and will return to JCR as a vice president
early this coming summer. Angood will also hold a vice president
title at the Joint Commission.

A native of Canada and its health system, Angood brings a rich
background of experience to the Joint Commission. He received his
medical degree from the University of Manitoba in Canada and
completed his training in General Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care
at McGill and at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. After initially
practicing medicine in Montreal, Angood was recruited to the
University of Pennsylvania and subsequently held surgery faculty and
hospital management positions at Yale University and at Washington
University of St. Louis. He was most recently at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School as Professor of Surgery, Anesthesia, and
Emergency Medicine.

Angood is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and has held
various positions within the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the
American College of Critical Care Medicine, the American Telemedicine
Association, the American College of Medical Quality, and the
American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. He is the author
of approximately 100 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, editorials,
and book chapters. His research has addressed telemedicine
technologies, medical education, injury prevention, outcomes
management, and resource utilization. Angood is currently president
of the 13,000-member Society of Critical Care Medicine and will
continue in that role through the conclusion of his term.

For more information about the Joint Commission International Center
for Patient Safety, please call (630) 268-7469