HCA 460 Ashford University Health Care Administration Capstone
Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read through the following webpages and resources to understand the purpose of documenting sentinel events as well as methods and reporting requirements:
- Sentinel Event Policy and Procedures (Links to an external site.)
- PSNet Search (Links to an external site.)
- Sentinel Events Download Sentinel Events
- Sentinel Events (SE) (Links to an external site.)
- Topic 6: Understanding and Managing Clinical Risk
Your initial discussion post must be a minimum of 250 words.
Sentinel events occur in nearly all health care organizations. According to the Maine Department of Human Services,
facilities that are vigilant about identifying and reporting errors…foster an organizational culture where staff members feel comfortable reporting patient safety concerns without fear of reprisal. Healthcare facilities that embrace this safety-focused culture look at adverse events as opportunities to learn and improve. (2018, p. 5)
You are assigned a sentinel event topic based on the first initial of your last name (topic is Fall Related Events). Based on your assigned topic, research a sentinel event, or create your own scenario. You will use this sentinel event for other assignments later in class. From a health care provider perspective (e.g., hospital, physician’s practice, long-term care, hospice, home health, surgery center, etc.), write a brief description of the sentinel event in your own words.
In addition, address the following:
- Identify the sentinel event, who was involved, what occurred, and where it occurred.
- Describe the applicable accrediting agency’s requirements for reporting the event (e.g., OSHA, ACHA, CMS, CDC, CLIA, The Joint Commission [TJC], AHCA, state agencies).
- Discuss the probable cause that may have contributed to the sentinel event (e.g., process failure, human error, policy error, systems error, technology failure, etc.).
- Create a recommendation that will reduce the risk of future events from occurring.