Clip this to know when to report sentinel events
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, recently explained which types of sentinel events may be reported to the organization and which types are not reportable.
All reporting is voluntary. Here are the Joint Commission's suggestions for when to report an event:
· Any patient death, paralysis, coma, or major permanent loss of function associated with a medication error.
· Any suicide of a patient in a setting where the patient is housed around-the-clock, including suicides following their flight from such a setting.
· Any unauthorized departure of a patient from an around the clock care setting resulting in a related death or major permanent loss of function.
· Any procedure on the wrong patient, wrong side of the body, or wrong organ.
· Any perinatal death unrelated to a congenital condition in an infant having a birth weight greater than 2,500 grams.
· Assault, homicide, or other crime resulting in patient death or major permanent loss of function.
· A patient fall that results in death or major permanent loss of function as a direct result of the injuries sustained in the fall.
· Hemolytic transfusion reaction involving major blood group incompatibilities.
Here are the Joint Commission's examples of events that do not need to be reported:
· Any "near miss."
· Full return of limb or bodily function to the same level as prior to the adverse event by discharge or within two weeks of the initial loss of said function.
· Any sentinel event that has not affected a recipient of care (patient, client, resident).
· Medication errors that do not result in death or major permanent loss of function.
· Suicide other than in an around-the-clock care setting or following flight from such a setting.
· A death or loss of function following a discharge "against medical advice."
· Unsuccessful suicide attempts.
· Unintentionally retained foreign body without major permanent loss of function.
· Minor degrees of hemolysis with no clinical sequelae.
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