Wrong-site surgery, suicide top Joint Commission sentinel event list
Wrong-site surgery, suicide, and operative/postoperative complications topped The Joint Commission’s latest tally of most frequently reported sentinel events, according to the May Joint Commission Online. The accreditor has reviewed 5,901 sentinel events since it began maintaining its database in January 1995 through March 31, 2009.
A total of 6,036 patients were affected by the events, with 4,132 (68%) resulting in patient death. The rest of the top 10 sentinel events over the last 14 years are medication error, delay in treatment, patient fall, unintended retention of foreign body, assault/rape/homicide, patient death or injury in restraints, and perinatal death or loss of function.
Click here for a more detailed view of the sentinel event statistics.
About the Author: Jay Kumar is a senior managing editor at HCPro, Inc. He is responsible for editing HCPro's newsletters covering patient safety, accreditation, hospital safety, medical staff services, credentialing, and nutrition. He also edits books and moderates audio conferences.
