What is a sentinel event?

• A. A planned, expected test result
• B. A routine administrative incident
• C. An event that causes no harm
• D. An unexpected event that causes death or harm

Answer: (D)

A sentinel event is an unexpected incident in health care that results in death or serious harm to a patient, or has the potential to cause such harm. The key here is that the event is not something routine or anticipated, and it signals that a deeper check of the system is needed. When a sentinel event occurs, organizations typically conduct a thorough root-cause analysis to understand what underlying system failures allowed it to happen and to implement changes to prevent recurrence. This distinguishes sentinel events from minor errors or incidents that cause no harm. The essential idea is that the event is both unexpected and severe (or has a real risk of severe harm), prompting urgent investigation and safety improvements.