The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum (NQF) have aligned on "serious reportable events" and "sentinel events," raising awareness of two MRI safety issues.
Looking forward, two MRI serious reportable events that the NQF added to its serious reportable event (SRE) list in 2025 will become sentinel events as of January 1, 2027:
- SRE 5, introduction of an unapproved, unscreened, or inappropriately approved device, implant, or object into an MR Zone IV area, regardless of the outcome
- SRE 6, patient harm associated with an MRI-related thermal injury
The update also expanded applicable healthcare settings to all patient care environments, including ambulatory outpatient care, hospital acute care, posthospital subacute care, home care, and virtual care settings, including mobile radiology clinics, office-based specialty care, outpatient radiology, and others.
The change establishes a common standard for measuring and tracking patient safety events, according to the Joint Commission.
NQF launched its consensus-based process to update the SRE List in 2024 with support from Elevance Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Joint Commission provided financial support to complete the process and finalize the updated list.
Find the complete update and crosswalk summaries here.
