RUNNING HEAD: PATIENT SAFETY – JOINT COMMISSION BROCHURE ANALYSIS 1 Patient Safety – Joint Commission Brochure Analysis Student Name: Chamberlain College of Nursing NR224 Fundamentals – Skills Faculty Name: Date: RUNNING HEAD: PATIENT SAFETY – JOINT COMMISSION BROCHURE ANALYSIS 2 Introduction ‘What You Should Know About Memory Problems and Dementia’ is a brochure developed by The Joint Commission as part of its National Speak Up Program with the aim to help patients with memory problems and dementia in becoming more aware and informed about their safety, medical condition, and possible treatment options for their condition (The Joint Commission, 2016). The Brochure also provides key information that friends and family members of the patients can seek and use to help the patient’s condition as the disease progresses. The Brochure was published in September 2016 in collaboration with several other healthcare organizations like Alzheimer’s Association, American Academy of Neurology, American Psychiatric Association, Family Caregiver Alliance, National Association of Social Workers, and National Institute of Aging. The information in the brochure is beneficial to the people who have unusual difficulties with their memory and have symptoms of memory disorders and dementia. One part of the brochure directly addresses the family members and friends (Advocates) of the patient and helps them become educated about dementia and memory problems. The advocates learn to make informed decisions and become aware of the importance of the support they can provide to the patient (The Joint Commission, 2016). Summary of the Brochure’s Recommendations The brochure contains information about the memory problems and dementia, evaluation of the symptoms of these diseases to know if seeking help of a healthcare professional is necessary at this stage, a set of questions to be asked by the patient to become educated and aware of his situation, and a set of questions that healthcare professionals generally ask to recommend medical tests, diagnosis approach, prescriptions, and treatment of the disease. The family members and close friends of the patient are recommended to RUNNING HEAD: PATIENT SAFETY – JOINT COMMISSION BROCHURE ANALYSIS 3 become involved in the intervention and treatment process. The communication between patients and healthcare professionals is convincingly encouraged as it can help in reversing the symptoms of memory problems and dementia in the patients and help patients make informed decisions about their health. The professional recommendations of the healthcare physician help patients in living an independent life which can only be made possible if the patient consistently, honestly, and fearlessly shares information about his medical condition with the doctor. The information in the brochure is based on facts and scholarly research in Neurological disorders and uses simple non-medical language so that patients can understand it and apply it to their daily lives to improve their medical condition. Patient safety can be improved by partnering up with the patients, family members, and medical staff of the healthcare organizations (O’Connor, M., 2016). This Brochure effectively addresses all three components of patient safety that are essential for improving quality of care through public awareness and education. Evaluation of Brochure The brochure effectively informs patients with memory problems about when they should be concerned about their health and highlights several causes of the memory disorders. The brochure addresses patients and the family members of the patients in layman terms that are easily understandable so that the target audience does not get distracted from the messages present in it. The information in the brochure is easily comprehendible for the patients and the examples presented reflect factual examples from daily life. The safety tips in the brochure are precise and clear (Grissinger, M., 2009). The information is presented in a well-structured format in which each subtopic is presented separately with headings and the information is categorized in separate sections for patients, family members, and doctors. The information does not mislead the audience from the fact that memory problems and