Health & Medical Question

Description

Write 6-8 pages analyzing a specific issue that occurred in a health care organization. Apply risk management best practices to it for the purpose of early risk identification and risk reduction or elimination in the future.Expand All

Introduction

Health care organizations have always searched for ways to identify and reduce risks. An organization’s ability to identify and analyze its risk exposure is a determining factor in the effectiveness of its risk management program (Hoarle, 2015). Early identification and analysis are essential.

Current health care risk management practices developed in the mid-1970s as a result of a surge in malpractice suits. These suits caused rapid increases in claims costs for the industry, which later resulted in increased insurance premiums. Today, health care delivery systems and organizations realize the value of risk management and have developed formalized programs (Hoarle, 2015). In addition, organizations have established mechanisms to review potential incidents of risk and safety concerns (Pelletier & Beaudin, 2018). While risk management programs are responsible for daily management and risk operations, all health care stakeholders are responsible for participating in activities that will reduce unnecessary risks and improve safety and quality (Hoarle, 2015).

References

Hoarle, K. (2015). Risk management poised to grow as healthcare evolves. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 49(6), 433–435.

Pelletier, L. R., & Beaudin, C. L. (2018). HQ solutions: Resource for the healthcare quality professional (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Preparation

To successfully complete this assessment, use the Risk Management Policy & Procedure Template [DOC] to address the following:

• For part 2 of this assessment, you will conduct an in-depth analysis of the organizational risk you selected from the Vila Health: Patient Safety simulation.
• Review the Risk Management Policy & Procedure Template [DOC], which you will use to complete your assessment. This document is formatted and has space for completing all components of the assessment.

Instructions

Part 1: Risk Management Policy and Procedure (3–4 pages)

As the new risk manager in your health care organization, your director has assigned you the responsibility of drafting the organization’s risk management policy and procedure. This assessment stemmed from your director’s perception that employees lacked knowledge and awareness of risk management’s contribution to furthering the organization’s safety and quality improvement efforts. Likewise, your director also saw evidence that departments within the organization were inconsistently applying risk management principles to their daily work practices.

The guidance you have received from your director about writing this policy and procedure is that it needs to include all of the following headings. It also needs to answer all of the questions underneath each heading:

• Purpose Statement:
  • How can a risk management program help this organization advance its strategic safety and quality goals?
• Key Risk Management Terms:
  • What is the definition for each of these risk management terms?
    • Risk prevention.
    • Risk reduction.
    • Regulatory compliance.
    • Patient safety.
    • Adverse event.
    • Near miss.
• Risk Categories and Risk Identification Techniques:
  • Discuss 3 of the 5 following health care risk categories, as well as their corresponding risk identification technique:
    • Financial.
    • Human capital.
    • Clinical.
    • Strategic.
    • Legal/ethical.
  • What risk management strategies will the organization use to identify potential organizational risks? Be sure your narrative identifies and describes such risk identification techniques as concurrent, retrospective, incident-reporting, and previous trends.
    • Note: These are only a few of the risk identification techniques to address in your policy and procedure. Be sure to include other examples you are aware of from your professional experience or from your readings.
  • What are some specific examples of risks and their appropriate corresponding risk identification techniques? For example, coding errors are a type of financial risk. Retrospective auditing is the risk identification technique used to identify this risk type.
• Risk Manager’s Role in Program Implementation and Compliance:
  • What is the risk manager’s role in risk management program implementation and compliance?
  • How can a risk manager impact the effective management of the organization’s risk management program?
  • What is one example from the literature that shows how the risk manager role can positively impact a health care organization’s management of its risk management program?

Part 2: Application of Risk Management Principles to a Specific Incident (3–4 pages)

To further help employees and the organization at large see risk management’s contribution to helping the organization achieve its safety and quality goals, your director has asked you to analyze and apply risk management principles to a recent incident that occurred in the organization. Your director has asked you to include all of the following headings in your analysis and to address all of the questions underneath each heading.

• Risk Description: Provide an overview of the risk including a description of the risk, implications to patients, and risk management strategies.
  • Which potential risk to your organization from the Vila Health: Patient Safety simulation are you analyzing? These include a patient identification error, a medication error, and a HIPAA/privacy violation.
• Risk Implications: Propose evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.
  • What are the risks to the patients, employees, and organization if this particular risk is not addressed? In other words, what could happen if the organization chooses to do nothing?
• Risk Reduction/Elimination: Propose evidence-based risk management best practices or strategies to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.
  • What evidence-based risk management best practices or strategies could the organization employ to eliminate or reduce the risk in the future? For example, if you plan to identify the risk by analyzing incident report data, would you conduct a drill down to determine what is causing the risk? What other best practices might you employ? Consult your suggested resources for guidance on best practices for eliminating and reducing risk.
  • What steps would you take to implement your plan to eliminate or reduce your selected risk?
• Importance of a Risk Management Program: Explain the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations.
  • Why is a risk management program important to an organization?
  • What are some important elements of a risk management program?
  • What is the organizational impact of not having a risk management program?

Please review the Risk Management Policy and Procedure Scoring Guide to ensure you understand the grading requirements for this assessment.

Additional Requirements

Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:

• Template: Use the Risk Management Policy & Procedure Template [DOC] to complete this assessment.
• Length: 6–8 double-spaced pages, excluding title and reference pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• APA format: Your submission— including the body, citations, and title and references pages— needs to conform to current APA format and style guidelines. Make sure that it is clear, persuasive, organized, and well-written, without grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors. Also, you must cite your sources according to current APA guidelines.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze the quality and performance improvement activities within the health care organization.
  • Provide an overview of the risk including a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies.
  • Propose evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.
• Competency 2: Explain the risk management function in the health care organization.
  • Define key risk management terms.
  • Describe the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques.
  • Analyze the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program.
  • Explain the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with the expectations for health care professionals.
  • Use correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as expected of an undergraduate learner.
  • Writing adheres to APA formatting rules and APA writing style with few or minor errors.

Scoring Guide

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

Expand All

Criterion 1

Define key risk management terms.

Distinguished

Provides comprehensive definitions of key risk management terms. Definitions include multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Defines key risk management terms.

Basic

Attempts to define key risk management terms; however, omissions and/or errors exist.

Non Performance

Does not attempt to define key risk management terms.

Criterion 2

Describe the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques.

Distinguished

Describes the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques. Includes multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Describes the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques.

Basic

Attempts to describe the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques; however, omissions and/or errors exist.

Non Performance

Does not attempt to describe the major risk categories in a health care organization, along with their corresponding risk identification techniques.

Criterion 3

Analyze the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program.

Distinguished

Provides a comprehensive, accurate analysis of the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program. Includes multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Analyzes the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program.

Basic

Attempts to analyze the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program; however, omissions and/or errors exist.

Non Performance

Does not attempt to analyze the risk manager’s role in effective management of the organization’s risk management program.

Criterion 4

Provide an overview of the risk including a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies.

Distinguished

Provides a comprehensive overview of the risk to include a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies. Includes multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Provides an overview of the risk to include a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies.

Basic

Provides an incomplete overview of the risk missing one or more of the following: a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies.

Non Performance

Does not provide an overview of the risk including a description of the risk, implications to patients, employees, and organization if risk is not addressed, and risk management strategies.

Criterion 5

Propose evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.

Distinguished

Proposes multiple evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk. Includes multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Proposes evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.

Basic

Attempts to propose evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk, but recommendations are not always evidence based or appropriate for the particular risk. Omissions and/or errors exist.

Non Performance

Does not attempt to propose evidence-based risk management strategies and techniques to identify and eliminate or reduce a particular risk.

Criterion 6

Explain the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations.

Distinguished

Provides a comprehensive explanation of the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations. Includes multiple examples, specifics, and references to the professional literature.

Proficient

Explains the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations.

Basic

Attempts to explain the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations; however, omissions and/or errors exist.

Non Performance

Does not attempt to explain the importance of a risk management program to health care organizations.

Criterion 7

Use correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as expected of an undergraduate learner.

Distinguished

Uses correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics beyond what is expected of an undergraduate learner.

Proficient

Uses correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as expected of an undergraduate learner.

Basic

Uses correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as expected of an undergraduate learner, but with some errors and lapses.

Non Performance

Does not use correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics as expected of an undergraduate learner.

Criterion 8

Writing adheres to APA formatting rules and APA writing style with few or minor errors.

Distinguished

Writing is exemplary, exhibiting strict and nearly flawless adherence to APA formatting rules and APA writing style.

Proficient

Writing adheres to APA formatting rules and APA writing style with few or minor errors.

Basic

Writing reflects inconsistent use of APA formatting and APA writing style.

Non Performance

Writing does not adhere to APA formatting and APA writing style.

Preparation

To successfully complete this assessment, use the Risk Management Policy & Procedure Template [DOC] to address the following:

• For part 2 of this assessment, you will conduct an in-depth analysis of the organizational risk you selected from the Vila Health: Patient Safety simulation.
• Review the Risk Management Policy & Procedure Template [DOC], which you will use to complete your assessment. This document is formatted and has space for completing all components of the assessment.
• This is from part 2 Villa Health Patient SafetyPatient SafetyIndependence Medical Center is a rural referral hospital with 115 beds in Independence, Iowa. Like all hospitals, administrators and providers try to avoid errors, and it’s the patient safety officer’s role to monitor the hospital’s safety posture and recommend better practices. But what happens when a mistake leads to a medication error?
• Patient IdentificationAt Independence Medical Center, the patient safety officer conducts daily safety rounds. Today, she’s rounding at the pediatric unit on the eighth floor.Select the character iconCharacters to learn more about how your quality assurance recommendations may be received by that role.