All health care organizations are faced with risks to patients, staff and the organization itself. It is, therefore, necessary that every healthcare organization have the risk management strategies in place to help in assessing, developing, implementing and monitoring the risks to minimize the chances of exposure. Risk management within the health care organization comprises of the administrative and clinical systems that can detect, monitor, assess and mitigate the risks. By employing a risk management strategy, organizations can proactively and systematically safeguard the safety of the patients, the assets of the organization and other valuables such as the brand name. One of the key causes of risks to the safety of the patients is lack of communication. This can usually lead to issues such as medical error and poor services as well as low customer satisfaction level and thus increased litigations. Many health care organizations have over the past decades incurred huge costs in lawsuits when patients sue for poor care services. Such cases of litigations are a risk to the growth of healthcare organizations. All healthcare organizations, therefore, need to have appropriate mechanisms to manage risks, including better communication within the organization.
Critique
Chapter four of the readings provide a good analysis of communication as a source of risks in health care organizations. In many current health care organizations, communication is essential in promoting patients satisfaction and quality of care. Without proper communication, there are increased chances of low-quality care which can then attract litigations ( Kavaler& Alexander, 2012 ). Chapter five of the readings provides a good description of the existence of risks in health care organizations and how to manage them. The healthcare organizations must, therefore, work to balance between either financing the risks or transferring them to the insurance firms. The article also covers very significant aspects of the healthcare risks by focusing on the economic decline as one of the causes of risks. As the economy shrinks, many healthcare organizations have to find a balance between the safety of the patients and profitability (SCHINNERER & COMPANY 2019 , 2019).
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Communication plays a key role in the provision of quality care and increasing patients’ satisfaction. Lack of communication can create misunderstandings which can then lead to risks such as medical error and low-quality services. Patients always want accountability and rationalization from the care providers. Patients can sue for poor quality care especially where the care providers are negligent and irresponsible as a result of lack of communication.
Healthcare organizations can either retain the risks or transfer them to the insurance companies. By transferring the risks to the insurance, these insurance cover up for specific types of losses as a result of the transferred risk. At the same time, healthcare organizations can decide to retain and finance the risks it faces. However, this requires that an organization analyzes what risks can be transferred and which ones can be retained. The chapters and the article change my thoughts about social media and clinician-patient online interactions. Communication is effective in any healthcare setting, and the interaction between the care provider and the patients online is important in understanding each other and enhancing safety.
Conclusion
Healthcare organizations currently face many risks that require to be managed or mitigated. The management of these care organizations must, therefore, introduce the risk management programs to help control and mitigate risks. Failing to mitigate risks can expose an organization to a variety of lawsuits especially when the patients sue for poor quality services. Patients education is an important area to help reduce risks by promoting understanding and communication between the care providers and the patients. At the same time, the patients have the right to informed consent and failing to adhere to this can lead to litigation.
References
Kavaler, F., & Alexander, R. S. (2012). Risk management in healthcare institutions: Limiting liability and enhancing care . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
( SCHINNERER & COMPANY 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.schinnerer.com/industries/healthcare/Documents/HC-HealthReportSum09.pdf
