The Joint Commission updated sentinel event statistics through the end of 2015.
There were 936 sentinel events reviewed last year. From all incidence reviewed 2004 to 2015, 56.1 percent ended in patient deaths and 8.7 percent resulted in permanent loss of function. Another 29.5 percent resulted in unexpected additional care and/or psychological impact.
Here are the most frequently reported sentinel events for 2015:
1. Unintended retention of a foreign body: 116
2. Wrong-patient, wrong-site or wrong-procedure: 111
3. Fall: 95
4. Suicide: 95
5. Delay in treatment: 76
6. Operative/postoperative complication: 76
7. Other unanticipated event: 56
8. Perinatal death/injury: 42
9. Medication error: 41
10. Fire: 23