Which statement best describes near-miss events?

• A. Near-misses are events that cause harm.
• B. Near-misses involve no potential for harm.
• C. Near-misses are events that could have caused harm but did not.
• D. Near-misses must be publicly reported to a regulator.

Answer: (C)

Near-miss events are moments when something dangerous almost happens to a patient, but harm does not occur. The key point is that there was potential for harm, and it was avoided by chance, quick detection, or a safeguard in place. This makes near misses valuable signals for safety improvement because they reveal weaknesses in processes before actual harm happens.

For example, a medication order that is misread but the error is caught before administration, or a barcode check that flags a mismatch before the patient receives the drug. The other statements aren’t accurate because a near miss does not mean no risk existed, and it’s not universally required to be reported to regulators—the reporting obligation depends on local policies, though many organizations encourage reporting to learn and strengthen safety.