At its April 24-25 meeting, the Joint Commission's Board of Commissioners approved the following:
- A more detailed definition of sentinel event occurrences reportable to the Joint Commission on a voluntary basis.
- Procedural revisions to assist organizations in complying with the policy.
- Initial remedial strategies to minimize the risk of discoverability of information relating to sentinel events.
- Continued exploration of mechanisms to close identified gaps in confidentiality protections.
- A provision for the on-site review of root cause analyses or relevant information.
- A 30-day period (from date of sentinel event or becoming aware of it) to submit root cause analysis for organizations that do not voluntarily self report.