Risk Management and Contingency Planning

Risk

a possible, uncertain event usually measured by how likely it is to occur and the severity of the potential impact

Risk management

the practice of identifying, analyzing, controlling, reporting, and monitoring the likelihood of and potential impact of events that threaten an organization’s resources

Clinical risk assessment

risk associated with patient safety and the delivery of care

Operational risks

result from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, or systems that affect business operations

Strategic risk management

Associated with the focus and direction of the organization. Associated with brand, reputation, competition, failure to adapt to changing times, health reform, or customer priorities

Financial risks

Decisions that affect the financial sustainability of the organization, access to capital.q or external financial ratings

Human capital risks

recruitment, retention, and termination of members of the medical and allied health staff

legal/regulatory

failure to identify, manage, and monitor legal, regulatory, and statutory mandates on a local, state, and federal level

Technology risks

risk management information systems, electronic health records, and meaningful use, social networking, and cyber liability

hazard risks

related to natural exposure and business interruptuion

quality improvement

the continual process of monitoring outcomes to ensure optimal care delivery within an organization

Sentinel events

adverse events resulting in death or serious harm to a patient

Adverse event

an incident that causes an undesired outcome, such as harm to a patient, not expected during the normal delivery of care

Near miss

an unplanned event, or close call, that could have caused harm to a person but did not because of chance or intervention

When was the American Society for Health Care Risk Management established

1980

When was the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research created

1989

When was the National Committee for Quality Assurance formed

1990

When did the Joint Commission issue the Sentinel event policy

1996

When did the Institute of Medicine release: To err is Human: building a safer health care system

1999

When did the Joint Commission announce national patient safety goals

2002

When did the National Quality Forum issue list of serious reportable events

2002

When did the World Health Organization develop multi professional patient Safety curriculum

2011

When Do the National Patient Safety Foundation release Free from harm

2011

What are key risk management responsibilities?

Identifying the organization's critical risks, learning industry standards and regulations, creating policies to increase safety educating staff about potential risks and plans, investigating complaints, working with legal matters tracking data to locate root causes and action plans, and reporting risk related information to stakeholders

What are the 5 key risk management steps

1. Plan

2. Assessment

3. Analysis

4. Response

5. Report and monitoring

What is a risk management plan?

Defines the business's philosophy on risk. This plan conveys the need to know information about risk management within an organization to all employees and external stakeholders.

What is a risk assessment?

An assessment to find vulnerabilities within the organization potential threats and the impact if the risk occurs.

What is a risk matrix?

A mapping tool used to rate the likelihood and severity of the impact of risks in order to identify the most critical risks to be addressed.

Incident Report

a document of objective information collected as soon as possible after an adverse event or near miss for the purpose of tracking data ensuring appropriate follow up and learning how to reduce or eliminate risk of recurrence.

What is a risk analysis?

Understanding the underlying systemic root causes of a problem

root cause analysis

a tool used by a team to determine all system factors directly associated with an adverse event or near miss with the aim of developing an action plan to reduce it

How can an organization response to risk?

1. mitigating or reducing

2. eliminating or avoiding

3. accepting

4. Transferring the risk

Risk report

includes data such as unexpected events reportable outcomes policy changes credentialing procedures staff training and patient safety activities. Also essential for the organization to continue to monitor and report new risks as contextual factors influencing the delivery of care.

Contingency plan

predetermined coercive action to guide an organization's response to and recovery from a negative or unexpected event in order to resume normal operation It is similar to a plan B.