The Joint Commission’s First Special Edition Sentinel Event Alert

Recognizing its unique position to understand and shed light on the collective experience of America’s health care organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, on February 2, 2021, the Joint Commission published the first in its series of special edition Sentinel Event Alerts. The special edition publication addresses COVID-19-specific concerns and comments that the Joint Commission’s Office … Continue reading

Joint Commission links safety culture to health care organization leadership

By Yvonne Puig (US) and Mark Faccenda (US) on March 2, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

On March 1, 2017, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert warning of the link between inadequate safety cultures within health care organizations and a rise in the occurrence of adverse events, and further urging health care organization leadership to adopt a culture of safety through formal initiatives and a top-down model behavioral approach. … Continue reading

The Joint Commission issues guidance for providers on how to manage patients at risk for suicide

By Yvonne Puig (US) and Mark Faccenda (US) on February 24, 2016 Posted in News from DC, Regulatory

On February 24, 2016, The Joint Commission (TJC) issued a Sentinel Event Alert with guidance for detecting and treating suicide ideation applicable to all health care settings. Because providers often fail to detect suicidal thoughts in their patients at the point of care, with some of these patients eventually succumbing to their suicidal ideations, TJC … Continue reading