JCAHO tallies hospital hazards
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, took an inventory of untoward events that occurred at 300 institutions between January 1995 and late last year. The inventory included the following events:
| Patient suicide | 72 |
| Medication error | 57 |
| Unexpected operative or post-op complication | 24 |
| Wrong site/patient surgery | 24 |
| Delay in treatment | 23 |
| Patient death or injury in restraints | 22 |
| Patient elopement | 18 |
| Assault/rape/homicide | 13 |
| Patient fall | 12 |
| Transfusion error | 11 |
| Other | 75 |
Source: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
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