If you notice that a patient valuables have been lost, who do you have to immediately notify?

• A. Admissions and dispositions noncommissioned officer in charge
• B. Custodian for patient valuables
• C. Military treatment facility commander
• D. Medical service accounts office officer in charge

Answer: (C)

When a patient’s valuables are lost, the proper move is to escalate the issue to the Military Treatment Facility commander. The commander is the authority who oversees incident handling, initiates the formal incident report, and directs security and investigative actions as needed. This ensures the loss is documented, accountability is established, and the right people are brought in to locate the items or determine next steps. The custodian for patient valuables is the person who would manage and safeguard the items, but the formal notification and subsequent actions originate with the facility commander. Other roles, like the Admissions and Dispositions NCOIC or the Medical Service Accounts Office, handle different duties and aren’t the designated point for initiating incident response.