Here are four key notes on sentinel events so far in 2015, according to the Joint Commission's "Sentinel Event Data: General Information" report.
1. The Joint Commission has reviewed around 550 self-reported sentinel events this year through the third quarter.
2. The Joint Commission received 731 sentinel events this year.
3. The top sentinel events this year are:
• Wrong patient, wrong site, wrong procedure
• Unintended retention of a foreign body
• Suicide
• Fall
• Delay in treatment
4. Seventy-one percent of the RCA were submitted to The Joint Commission electronically; 17 percent shared via web conference and 12 percent used other methods.