The following are the most common root causes between 2004 and 2013 for operative and postoperative complications, unintended retention of foreign objects and wrong-patient, wrong-site wrong-procedure sentinel events as reviewed by The Joint Commission. Sentinel events often have more than one cause, according to the data.
Op/post-op complications:
Human factors — 62 percent
Communication — 53 percent
Assessment — 49 percent
Leadership — 40 percent
For a full list of top root causes for perioperative complications, object retention and wrong-surgeries, continue reading on Becker’s Hospital Review.
