Policies and Procedures of Risk Management
There are several ways one can manage risk in Healthcare Organizations. One of the conventional approaches is proper communication between the patients and the healthcare givers. Some of the issues covered in chapter 4 are barriers to the effective communication process, reasons why patients sue, cultural empowerment, health consent, disclosure, and patient education. Chapter 5 describes the process of financing risk. The areas covered under financing risk are methods of identifying risk, cost of adverse risk, and insurance options, among others.
Communication is a risk in Healthcare Organizations since lack of proper communication between medics and patients; it is a vital factor and could lead to malpractice lawsuits. Obstacles to proper communication include poor listening skills from the parties involved, physical barriers, and personal distractions. Some of the factors that determine communication are age, personality, environmental factors, and intelligence (Florence Kavaler; Raymond, Alexander, Jones & Bartlett Learning, p.3). Physicians should understand patients within their cultural and societal practices to manage risk. This is important because communication will be done at the level of understanding of the patient. Also, misunderstanding caused by cultural differences will be avoided.
Patients sue do to dissatisfaction.Research has indicated that a lack of proper communication causes most of the discontent. (Florence Kavaler; Raymond S. Alexander, Jones & Bartlett Learning,p11) .They look for rationalization, altruism, and recompense, among other things in litigation. Patients should understand the services being rendered to them and the various risks involved. Full disclosure is necessary because it lessens the tendency to litigate, and also it increases the tendency to settle. If something goes wrong, the physician should apologize.
Risk exists for any Healthcare Organization, and this could affect its financial performance. Therefore the organization should cover the financial risk or transfer it. It is the responsibility of the organization to determine the risks that should be retained and the ones that should be transferred. Financing the risk entails ensuring that there are sufficient funds to cover costs related to unexpected future events (Yen, 2015).Some of the costs associated with adverse risk are defense cost, loss reduction, and opportunity costs.
Transferring the risk can be achieved by purchasing insurance covers Kokobe and Gemechu, 2016). The choice of an insurance plan depends on costs, experience, technology, costs, and procedures. In case of any loss caused by the risk, the insurance company will pay sums legally obligated to be paid by the insured. In return, the insured will pay some premiums, as stated in the insurance agreement.
The chapter doesn’t change my mind on social media challenges and clinical-patient online interaction. Consent, full disclosure of information and patient education is essential in rendering health services to the patient (Grudniewicz, Kealy, Rodseth, Hamid, Rudoler, and Straus, 2015)
In conclusion, patients should have full disclosure of the services being rendered to them. Therefore it’s the role of the physicians to educate them. This will reduce the risks associated with a lack of proper communication to a considerably low level.
Risk Management in Health Care Institutions, 3rd Edition. Florence Kavaler; Raymond S. Alexander 978-1-4496-4565-6 Jones & Bartlett Learning
Yen, Y. S. (2015). Managing perceived risk for customer retention in e-commerce: The role of switching costs. Information & Computer Security, 23(2), 145-160.
Kokobe, S. A., & Gemechu, D. (2016). Risk management techniques and financial performance of insurance companies. International Journal of Accounting Research, 4(1), 127.
Grudniewicz, A., Kealy, R., Rodseth, R. N., Hamid, J., Rudoler, D., & Straus, S. E. (2015). What is the effectiveness of printed educational materials on primary care physician knowledge, behavior, and patient outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analyses — implementation Science, 10(1), 164.