2007 National Patient Safety Standards Require "Active Involvement of Patients and Their Families in Patient Care as a Patient Safety Strategy"

Hospitals and healthcare organizations seek accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) because they are committed to providing high quality care and service, reducing risk and improving patient safety.

JCAHO accreditation also promotes competitive advantage, since patients seek healthcare in institutions who place strong value on performance and excellence.

The 2007 National Patient Safety Goals require that accredited healthcare organizations demonstrate they have incorporated JCAHO's patient safety goals.

New changes to the National Patient Safety Goals require that hospitals and healthcare organizations "encourage the active involvement of patients and their families in the patient's own care as a patient safety strategy". This standard applies to all healthcare settings beyond hospitals, including assisted living, behavioral healthcare, ambulatory clinics, long-term care, home care, and free-standing surgery centers.

MyHealthArchive™ and MedManager™ are compliant with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regarding the security and privacy of health data shared between patients and healthcare providers.

Patients are empowered to organize and provide their medical and surgical history, names of physicians, medications prescribed by each physician, pharmacies where prescriptions were filled, information about friends or family and advance directives, so they are effectively participating in their treatment, coordination of care and safety.

Healthcare providers can access critical healthcare information timely and efficiently, thus avoiding roadblocks to effective communication.

According to the JCAHO, interactive communication with patients and families about all aspects of their care, treatment and services is an important characteristic of a culture of patient safety.

Engaging patients as active participants in their own care can promote awareness of possible complications and treatment choices.

MyHealthArchive and MedManager are technological tools which can be used to encourage partnerships between patients and their healthcare providers, to encourage effective and timely communication, avoid errors, and effectively integrate into hospitals and healthcare organizations and processes which have been designed to improve patient safety.

Sharing information through MyHealthArchive and MedManager can result in an opportunity for patients and their families to take a greater role in helping their own healthcare by keeping track of their conditions and treatments. This enables physicians and healthcare professionals to optimize treatment, improve clinical outcomes and reduce the risk of adverse events.

1 Joint Commission Resources (2006). Meeting the Joint Commissions National Patient Safety Goals, Joint Commission Resources Inc., USA.