Effective communication is critical to the successful delivery of health care services. The Joint Commission supports a number of efforts to improve communication between health care professionals and patients. It’s been estimated that there are more than 300 languages spoken in the United States and more than 90 million Americans have low health literacy, meaning they don’t have the capacity to adequately understand and use health information. The Joint Commission recommends an approach to communicating health information that encompasses language needs, individual understanding, and cultural and other barriers. The Joint Commission’s efforts to promote effective communication include:
“One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations”—Published in April 2008, this report urges health care organizations to assess their capacity to meet patients’ unique cultural and language needs. Based on successful practices being used in hospitals, the report underscores the need to move away from a “one size fits all” approach that negatively affects the quality and safety of care for diverse patients. The report includes a self-assessment tool that can help health care organizations tailor their initiatives to meet the needs of diverse populations. The tool is structured around the main topics covered in the report and provides a framework for discussing needs, resources and goals for providing the highest quality care to every patient served. The report is the result of an ongoing multi-year research study, “Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation,” supported by funding from The California Endowment (see below for more information on the study). The report is available at http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/HLC/.
“Exploring Cultural and Linguistic Services in the Nation’s Hospitals: A Report of Findings”—Issued in March 2007, this report recommends targeted strategies for addressing language and cultural issues that increasingly pose challenges to hospitals seeking to deliver safe, effective care to diverse American populations. The recommendations in the report are the result of the “Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation” study, which explored how 60 hospitals across the country are providing health care to culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations. Few studies have systematically explored the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate health care in a large number of hospitals. With funding from The California Endowment, this project is closing the gap. More information about this project and copies of the report are available at http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/HLC/.
“What Did the Doctor Say?:” Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety—Published in February 2007, this white paper is the result of the Health Literacy and Patient Safety Roundtable, part of The Joint Commission’s Public Policy Initiative. This roundtable met in May and September 2005 and was charged with framing the issues related to low health literacy and its impact on patient safety. The white paper describes interventions to improve the ability of patients to understand complex medication information and provides recommendations for a broad range of health care stakeholders and policymakers to mitigate the risks to patients with low health literacy or low English proficiency. For more information, visit http://www.jointcommission.org/PublicPolicy/.
“Understanding Adverse Events in Minority Patients with Limited English Proficiency”—Completed in January 2006, this study was funded by the Commonwealth Fund and examined the characteristics (impact, type, causes) of adverse events for Limited English Proficiency and English-speaking patients. Among the important findings of the study were the differences in impact adverse events had on the LEP vs. the English-speaking patients. The comprehensive study results are currently awaiting publication.
Joint Commission accreditation standards—The Joint Commission standards set performance expectations for activities that affect the safety and quality of patient care. These standards include several requirements that promote effective communication between patients and their caregivers, cultural competence, and patient-centered communication. As reflected in The Joint Commission standards, these issues should be addressed at the organizational-level and embedded within all of the functions of the organization.
Speak Up program—In March 2002, The Joint Commission launched a national campaign to urge patients to take a role in preventing health care errors by becoming active, involved and informed participants on the health care team. The program features brochures and posters on a variety of patient safety topics. All brochures are available in an easy-to-read format. Speak Up is intended to involve the public in their health care, raise their knowledge about health care issues, and enable them to make good decisions about their health. Speak Up™ brochures are available on the following topics: surgery, living organ donation, infection prevention, medication safety, follow-up care, medical tests, patient rights, understanding caregivers, and pain management. Speak Up materials are available at http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/SpeakUp/.
“You: The Smart Patient: An Insider’s Handbook For Getting The Best Treatment”—published by Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, and sold at bookstores nationwide, this book uses humor and illustrations to provide concrete guidance to patients in navigating the health care system. It also urges patients to get involved in their health care, and showcases the importance of Joint Commission accreditation. The book was written by best-selling authors Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., in collaboration with Joint Commission Resources, The Joint Commission's not-for-profit affiliate.