What defines a sentinel event in healthcare quality improvement?

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Multiple Choice

What defines a sentinel event in healthcare quality improvement?

A sentinel event is a patient safety event that results in death or a serious physical or psychological injury, or places the patient at risk of such harm, and is typically preventable. Because the event is preventable and has significant impact, it prompts an immediate investigation and root-cause analysis to identify failures and put system-wide changes in place to prevent recurrence. This is why describing it as a preventable, significant adverse outcome is the best fit. It’s not a minor complication, not a routine outcome, and not a policy change with no patient impact.

A sentinel event is a patient safety event that results in death or a serious physical or psychological injury, or places the patient at risk of such harm, and is typically preventable. Because the event is preventable and has significant impact, it prompts an immediate investigation and root-cause analysis to identify failures and put system-wide changes in place to prevent recurrence. This is why describing it as a preventable, significant adverse outcome is the best fit. It’s not a minor complication, not a routine outcome, and not a policy change with no patient impact.

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