The Joint Commission analyzed 3,375 sentinel events between Jan. 1, 2010 and June 30, 2013 that resulted in either permanent patient harm or death. Of those sentinel events, 120 resulted from health IT-related contributing factors, which the Joint Commission identifies as socio-technical dimensions. The alert shows these risks can be averted through strong organizational leadership that emphasizes a culture of safety and continuous process improvement," said Mark R. Chassin, MD, president and CEO of The Joint Commission. "When all people within a healthcare organization focus on identifying potential hazards as part of their daily work, then patient safety wins."
Source: Becker's Health IT & CIO Review