Decreasing Risk Exposure Flashcards
What is the primary goal of risk management in healthcare organizations?
To minimize negative outcomes for individuals and the organization
Risk management seeks to manage the organization’s risk exposure and improve its processes to minimize liability.
Define ‘risk’ in the context of healthcare management.
An exposure to the chance of injury or financial loss and its associated liability
This definition emphasizes the potential dangers healthcare organizations face.
What does Risk Management (RM) involve?
Processes to identify, evaluate, and control risk
RM includes collecting data, recognizing patterns, and investigating sentinel events and near misses.
What are potentially compensable events (PCEs)?
Occurrences involving liability for injury or property loss
PCEs are significant in assessing risk in healthcare settings.
occurence report
explains instance of risk exposure
List the steps involved in decreasing risk exposure through occurrence reporting.
- Develop a risk management plan, policies, and procedures
- Teach risk management concepts to employees
- Evaluate occurrence reports
- Examine structure, process, and knowledge issues
- Identify practice patterns and sentinel events
- Provide direction in patient advocacy
- Communicate with legal support
- Plan for future insurance strategies
Each step is critical for effective risk management.
What is a sentinel event?
An unexpected occurrence involving death or serious injury, or the risk thereof ex: child abduction
Sentinel events highlight significant safety concerns within healthcare organizations.
What is a near-miss in healthcare risk management?
Occurrences that do not necessarily affect an outcome but carry a significant chance of being a serious adverse event if they were to recur
Near-misses are important to analyze to prevent future sentinel events.
What is the purpose of a Cause-and-Effect Diagram?
To determine proximate causes (can be pointed to directly) of an event
rare to have 1 root cause
Also known as a Fishbone or Ishikawa Diagram, it helps in root-cause analysis.
What is the key question in Root-Cause Analysis?
Why?
This question helps uncover the absolute root cause of a problem.
How do risk managers support patients during negative events?
They provide direction in the patient advocacy function, make sure fam/pt knows the facts of occurrence
This support is crucial during difficult interactions with the healthcare organization.
What role does the risk management team play in legal support?
They communicate all relevant data and information when potentially compensable events occur
This includes coordinating legal activities and responses.
What is the final step in planning for future risk management?
Develop an appropriate insurance strategy for the organization
This strategy should be developed with reference to the healthcare service lines of the organization.
