Risk Management in Healthcare

Study Notes

Failing to manage risks can lead to crisis situations with harmful consequences for patient safety and public health.

Hazard: any activity, situation, or substance that has the potential to cause harm, including ill health, injury, loss of product, and/or damage to plant and property.
Examples of hazards: blood-borne pathogens, hazardous chemicals, stress.
Risk: the probability that harm (illness or injury) will actually occur.

Improve organizational and client safety.
Identify and minimize risks and liability losses.
Protect organizational resources.
Support regulatory and accreditation compliance.
Create and maintain safe systems of care to reduce adverse events and improve human performance.

Use data sources such as:
- Adverse event reports.
- Mortality and morbidities reports.
- Patient complaints reports.

Use the Severity Assessment Code (SAC) Score: a matrix scoring system that gives numerical scores to the severity and likelihood of risks, and multiplies them to get a rating for the risk.

1: Extreme - severe injury or illness, resulting in permanent injury or disability or ill health to one or more persons.
2: Major - major or multiple injuries, resulting in temporary disability or ill health to one or more persons.
3: Moderate - injury or illness requiring medical or psychological treatment to one or more people.
4: Minor - minor injury, first aid treatment required, no lasting impact.
5: Insignificant - no treatment required.

Incident monitoring: mechanisms for identifying, processing, analyzing, and reporting incidents to prevent their reoccurrence.
Sentinel events: unexpected events involving patient death or serious physical or psychological injury.
Fitness-to-practice requirements: ensuring healthcare professionals have the necessary skills and competencies to provide safe care.
Patient complaints: expressions of dissatisfaction with healthcare provision, used to improve care.