8 | Joint Comission
• Sentinel Event Alerts that identify specific
sentinel events (an unexpected death or seri-
ous physical or psychological injury) or pa-
tient safety problems, describes their com-
mon underlying causes, and suggests steps to
prevent the occurrence of these events. Much
of the information and guidance provided in
these Alerts is drawn from The Joint Com-
mission’s Sentinel Event Database, one of
the nation’s most comprehensive voluntary
reporting systems for serious adverse events
in health care. Alerts have addressed impor-
tant issues such as health care worker fatigue,
maternal deaths, medication mix-ups, and
patient suicides.
• The Speak Up program provides patients
with free safety tips on a variety of health care
topics including surgery, infection control,
medicines, follow-up care, medical tests, pa-
tient rights, understanding caregivers, pain
management, child safety, and diabetes and
dialysis care in the hospital.
The Joint Commission is also com-
mitted to providing the public with reliable
information about the health care provided
by our accredited and certified organiza-
tions. The Quality Check website and the
annual report, Improving America’s Hospi-
Ann Scott Blouin,
Ph.D., RN, FACHE, Executive Vice
President, Customer Relations
