JCR Announces Availability of Do-Not-Use Abbreviations Kit, Hand-Hygiene Buttons

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Joint Commission Resources (JCR) today announced the release of the Spell It Out! toolkit and hand-hygiene buttons, two new products designed to help healthcare organizations eliminate the use of dangerous medical abbreviations, acronyms and symbols, and to promote staff handwashing. JCR is an affiliate of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

The Joint Commissions National Patient Safety Goal improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers includes the Requirement, standardize a list of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols that are not to be used throughout the organization. Spell It Out! uses common workplace items to remind doctors, nurses and staff about the list of do-not-use abbreviations and provides the rationale for spelling out the terms.

The complete kit includes:

·        Two clipboards,

·        10 laminated posters,

·        10 pocket-sized quick reference cards,

·        10 sticker sheets (nine stickers per sheet), and

·        Five multi-click pens with a window that displays all the do-not-use abbreviations.

Items can also be ordered separately. The complete Spell It Out! kit is available for $49 using order code KAB-05BHM.

JCR also offers hand-hygiene buttons that encourage patients to ask and remind health care staff to wash their hands before and after patient encounters. These colorful buttons instantly communicate to patients the healthcare organizations commitment to stopping the spread of infections. They are available in packs of 10 in English or Spanish for $5. Custom orders are available in quantities of 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 for the following languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Italian, and Japanese.

For more information or to order Spell It Out! and the hand-hygiene buttons, call JCR Customer Service toll-free at 877-223-6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays, or visit www.jcrinc.com.

Source: JCR