Other people's money: a reply to the Joint Commission.
In a response to Professor Liang's earlier article expressing concern regarding the Joint Commission's Sentinel Event Policy ("SEP"), the General Counsel of the Joint Commission disagreed with the criticisms of the SEP. In this Comment, Professor Liang replies to the Commission's position, indicates that resources devoted to legal issues created by the SEP are not available for patient safety, and that the goal of patient safety may be better served by focusing on near misses rather than sentinel events. Finally, he concludes that the Joint Commission and its critics have the same ultimate goal, and that a cooperative approach which includes federal legislation to protect safety information is essential.
Liang
B A
BA
Southern Illinois University School of Law and School of Medicine, Carbondale, IL, USA. baliang@alum.mit.edu
D000068:Accreditation; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D012308:Risk Management / Q000592:standards*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D014481:United States