While discharging their duties, health workers encounter various hazards. Left unaddressed, these hazards could impair the capacity of the workers to effectively deliver care. Risk management is one of the approaches that enable the workers to effectively contain hazards. Essentially, risk management is concerned with identifying and tackling hazards to ensure that they do not hamper healthcare delivery (Gaffey, 2016). I conducted an interview with a health worker recently. The purpose of the interview was to identify the risks that health workers face. The details of this interview are provided below.
Where does the interviewee work? For how long?
The health worker who I interviewed, Abigail Smith, works in the emergency department of the WellStar Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This facility mainly attends to patients from the city. However, it also receives patients from the wider state of Georgia and other parts of the US. The fact that the facility attends to a wide range of patients means that it faces many risks. Smith has served at the hospital for seven years. The interview was conducted in Smith’s office. After receiving confirmation that she was available for the interview, I suggested a number of possible venues for the interview. Eventually, we settled on her office because it was most convenient. The interview was rather standard. I fielded a number of questions and she provided responses.
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What position does the health care worker being interviewed hold? Do they provide direct patient care?
Smith has held a number of key positions at the hospital. When she joined the hospital, she was a nurse. She has since been elevated to the position of Nurse Manager. Her main objective is monitoring the performance of nurses. This means that she is not directly involved in the provision of care to patients. As the Nurse Manager, her main mandate is to ensure that the nurses at the hospital perform their duties as required. The fact that her position as Nurse Manager limits direct contact with patients does not mean that she lacks knowledge on primary care. For the years served in this position, Smith has gained important insights regarding patient care. She was was involved in various aspects of primary care such as diagnosis and the administration of treatment.
Was the interviewee familiar with risk management? If so, how knowledgeable would you say they are?
Smith was deeply familiar with risk management. In response to the question of what her thoughts on risk management are, she shared with me that risk management entails containment of hazards. She stated that risk management allows medical facilities to examine their environment to ensure that all factors facilitate patients’ wellbeing. She added that preserving patient welfare is not the only purpose that risk management serves. It also caters to the needs of medical professionals. She offered the example of training nurses to equip them with the insights needed to excel in their jobs. She also provided instances where the medical facility failed to adopt proper risk management approaches. For example, the facility failed to conduct routine checks to ensure financial accountability. Consequently, the facility lost the trust and support of funders. She also shared that there is no warmth and collaboration in the relationships among the health workers at the facility.
Does the interviewee have any job responsibilities that involve risk management? If so, ask them to elaborate.
Before delving into her perspective on risk management, Smith begins to discuss the demands of her position. She said that she is assigned responsibilities which concern risk management. As the Nurse Manager, she is expected to monitor nurses, develop programs that enhance the skills and knowledge of the nurses, and recruit new nurses, among others. Each of these roles have some element of risk management. For example, she shared that, as a recruiter, she is required to hire competent and qualified nurses. Should she make the blunder of recruiting an unqualified candidate, she is exposing the hospital to such hazards as malpractice and lawsuits. Smith also noted that she needs to keep a close eye on the nurses. She challenges the nurses to adhere strictly to the laid-down procedures and guidelines. This role enables her to shelter the facility against risks. Overall, Smith is a key player in the risk management approaches that the medical facility has adopted.
What are some of the risk management issues affecting the health care industry today that pose a significant threat? (Can be within their own health care organization or ones they have worked for in the past or just in general).
My interview with Smith covered a number of issues that relate to risk management in healthcare. The threats that the medical facilities face today are some of the subjects we explored in the interview. Smith identified negligence among practitioners as one of these threats. She shared that the WellStar Atlanta Medical Center has been the subject of lawsuits resulting from negligence on the part of some of its practitioners. As a result of these lawsuits, the facility’s reputation as a provider of quality medical services has been tainted. Mismanagement of financial resources is another threat that hinders medical facilities from effectively delivering care. Smith noted that her facility has had several cases of fraud and theft. She particularly shared that there are some nurses who collude with other practitioners to overcharge the patients for services. There are even nurses who demand payment for services that were never delivered. In addition to hurting the financial health of the facility, the cases of fraud also adversely affect patients. Other threats that Smith offered her thoughts on include inadequate support from sponsors and the failure of the facility to adopt the best practices. These threats have eroded the progress that WellStar Atlanta Medical Center had made in the delivery of quality care. 6. What are some of the effects of these risk management threats?
The threats that Smith identified have had far-reaching impacts on the operations of WellStar Atlanta Medical Center. Tainting the image of the facility is one of these threats. As noted above, the lawsuits have tarnished the reputation of the facility. As a result of the tainted image, the hospital has witnessed a mass exodus of patients. Another impact of the threats that the facility faces involves a decline in patient wellbeing. Such threats as practitioner negligence have resulted in poor health outcomes. The hospital has had a few cases of patients developing complications due to the failure of the practitioners to adhere to proper procedures and guidelines. The medical center has also been investigated. Law enforcement agents and regulators of the healthcare industry have made visits to the medical center. The aim of the visits was to investigating such issues as fraud. During these visits, the medical center has been forced to suspend operations. Patients have borne the brunt of the threats. When the center suspends operations, the patients are forced to seek services elsewhere. WellStar Atlanta Medical Center has lost some of its most talented and committed employees due to the threats that it faces. For example, two nurses have quit following the rampant fraud and negligence that occured at the facility. Without Smith’s intervention, more nurses and other practitioners would have left the medical facility. 7. You might ask: “Would you say this creates a potential for financial loss?” If they answer this question, you might want to get them to open up about the impact of this financial loss.
Ineffective management of risk in healthcare institutions exposes them to the threat of financial loss. Smith opened up about the massive financial losses that the facility has suffered. Fraud and misappropriation of funds are the main causes of the loss. The exit of dozens of patients has also been blamed for the loss. Smith added that the financial loss has had devastating impacts on the facility. For instance, the facility has been forced to shut down some units. This meant it was no longer able to keep these units operational. The financial loss has also forced the facility to expand its donor base. This has been difficult since the facility has lost the trust and confidence of sponsors. Despite the challenges that the financial loss has presented, Smith ended the interview on a positive note. She predicted that given the reforms that she has initiated, WellStar Atlanta Medical Center is now on a path to recovery and sustainable growth.
In conclusion, Smith was very helpful in shedding light on risk management in healthcare. Her responses provided insights into the challenges that medical facilities face. What was most clear is that while some risks are beyond the control of the facilities, others are fairly easy to manage. The interview highlighted the importance of strong leadership. Without the able leadership that Smith provided, WellStar Atlanta Medical Center would be unable to manage risks effectively. Healthcare leaders need to be in the forefront in risk management.
Reference
Gaffey, A. D. (2016). Embracing change to make health care safer. Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, 36 (2), 6-6. doi:10.1002/jhrm.21235
