Define a sentinel event in the context of medication safety and give an example.

• A. An abnormal event with no potential for harm.
• B. An unexpected event resulting in death or serious harm due to a medical error.
• C. A routine administrative task with no safety implications.
• D. An event where a patient was not notified.

Answer: (B)

A sentinel event is an unexpected safety event that results in death or serious physical or psychological harm to a patient, or the risk thereof, and stems from a medical error or failure in care. In medication safety, this means a medication error that leads to life-threatening outcomes or severe injury, such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or administering a drug to the wrong patient, with serious consequences.

For example, if a patient receives a high-alert medication in error and suffers life-threatening bleeding or severe harm, that would be a sentinel event because it is both unexpected and results in serious harm due to an error in care. Such events prompt immediate investigation and system-wide changes to prevent recurrence.

The other options don’t fit because they describe events that either cause no harm (or potential harm), are routine tasks with no safety implications, or involve communication lapses that aren’t inherently tied to an error causing serious harm.