Joint Commission releases 2013 sentinel event stats

The Joint Commission released the most frequently report sentinel events and most frequently identified root causes for 2013, according to the May issue of Joint Commission Perspectives. The leading sentinel events were delays in treatment resulting in death or loss of function (113), wrong-patient/wrong-site/wrong-procedure errors (109), unintended retention of a foreign object (102), suicide (90), and falls (82).

 

The most frequently identified root causes for sentinel events were human factors such as complacency or rushing (635), communication (563), leadership (547), and assessment (505). The Joint Commission reviewed a total of 887 sentinel events in 2013. Sentinel events are self-reported by accredited organizations to The Joint Commission or made known through complaints or the media.