The Joint Commission released a list of the most common sentinel events in the first six months of 2019.
According to the commission, fewer than 2 percent of sentinel events, or those that result in a patient's death, are reported. In the first six months of 2019, 436 sentinel events have been reported, 83 percent of which were voluntarily self-reported by certified or accredited organizations.
The five most common sentinel events:
1. Unintended retention of a foreign body: 60
2. Wrong-site surgery: 29
3. Fall: 25
4. Suicide (inpatient): 21
5. Suicide (off-site): 21