The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has issued criteria for reporting an occurrence as a sentinel event. Failure to comply with the reporting requirement will place the facility on accreditation-watch status.
If a recipient of care is affected by one or more of the items listed below, then the incident must be reported to the JCAHO:
(1) an event resulting in an unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function, not related to the natural course of the patient's illness or underlying condition
(2) suicide during continuous care
(3) infant abduction or discharge to the wrong family
(4) rape
(5) hemolytic transfusion reaction involving the administration of blood or blood products having major blood group incompatibilities
(6) surgery on the wrong patient or body part.
The JCAHO Sentinel Event Hotline can be reached at 630-792-3700 (08:30 to 17:00 CST, Monday through Friday).
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