Which statement best describes the response to a near-miss event in patient care?

• A. Do nothing and hope no one notices.
• B. Only share with direct supervisor.
• C. Document the event, inform necessary parties, report per policy, participate in root cause analysis, implement changes, and monitor outcomes.
• D. Report only if the patient files a complaint.

Answer: (C)

A near-miss is an event that could have caused harm but didn’t, and it provides a valuable safety signal. The best response is to treat it as a learning opportunity by documenting exactly what happened, informing the necessary people, reporting it according to policy, participating in a root cause analysis to identify contributing factors, implementing changes to prevent recurrence, and monitoring outcomes to ensure the fixes work. This approach supports a nonpunitive, system-wide focus on safety, rather than blaming individuals.

Doing nothing misses a chance to fix underlying problems. Sharing only with a direct supervisor limits learning and accountability, and waiting for a patient complaint ignores many near-miss opportunities that could prevent harm.