2026

Home Care
National Patient Safety Goals

These goals focus on problems in health care safety and how to solve them — improving the experience and well-being of every patient at home.

Identify patients correctly NPSG.01.01.01	Use at least two ways to identify patients. For example, use the patient’s name and date of birth. This is done to make sure that each patient gets the correct medicine and treatment.
Use medicines safely NPSG.03.06.01	Maintain and communicate accurate patient medication information. Obtain a complete medication list at the start of care and every time orders change. Compare this list with new physician orders to identify duplicates, omissions, or interactions. Provide the patient or caregiver with a written medication list when transitioning care. Educate patients on how to manage and update their medication lists.
Prevent infection NPSG.07.01.01	Implement a hand hygiene program following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Set goals for improving compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. Improve compliance based on those established goals.
Prevent patients from falling NPSG.09.02.01	Assess each patient’s risk for falls. This may include a review of fall history, medications, gait and balance, walking aids, and home environment. Implement interventions to reduce falls based on the patient’s assessed risk. Educate staff on the fall reduction program.
Identify patient safety risks NPSG.15.02.01	Find out if there are any risks for patients who are getting oxygen. For example, fires in the patient’s home.