Is Private Equity Acquisition of Hospitals a Sentinel Event?
Recent research suggests PE acquisition is life-threatening. Should it be reportable?
The Frontier Psychiatrists doesn’t shy away from the critical questions. It’s a newsletter and then some.
I recently wrote an article about death by suicide after treatment in an acute care setting as a new sentinel event up to one week later. Sentinel Events are defined like this:
A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury or the risk thereof. Serious injury specifically includes loss of limb or function. The phrase "or the risk thereof" includes any process variation for which a recurrence would carry a significant chance of a serious adverse outcome. Such events are called "sentinel" because they signal the need for immediate investigation and response.
Although death by suicide is one such outcome, today I have a provocative question: is acquisition by private equity also in the same category?
Falls with serious injuries are consistently among the Top 10 sentinel events reported to The Joint…