A risk management plan is a crucial, documented way of identifying potential problems before their occurrence and deciphers plans to address them. The risk management plan's primary focus is on internal and external risks that are likely to affect the organization and its processes negatively. The essence of such plans cannot be overstated. A risk management plan is much valued in healthcare and nursing since the end impact is directly on human life (Rodziewicz & Hipskind, 2020). The risk management plan helps prevent or significantly reduce cases of breast cancer misdiagnosis at Detroit VAMC Hospital by addressing issues on what would occur if the issue of preventable breast cancer misdiagnosis is not resolved.
Risk to VAMC Hospital if the Problem is Not Solved
If breast cancer misdiagnosis is not resolved, VAMC hospital risks answering to lawsuits filed by patients or family members of patients misdiagnosed. The legal implications for the hospital are likely to be a huge legal counsel and settlement costs. To make matters worse, since the problem will not have been resolved, these costs will keep recurring and lead the hospital to bankruptcy. The hospital risks closing down from either overspends their income on settling lawsuits. Once patients blacklist the hospital as having rampant misdiagnosis cases, they will spread the word to others who will avoid coming to the hospital for their healthcare or medical services. As a result, the hospital risks running into huge losses due to little or no income due to patient boycott. The hospital risks being closed down through government action due to rampant misdiagnosis cases or through intervention by the judiciary (Murphy et al., 2018). The hospital risks losing productivity from the staff that commits the errors. The hospital also risks increasing costs due to the unplanned prolonged treatment and hospitalization of patients. The hospital risks getting a bad reputation and being dis-accredited.
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Impact on Organization's Reputation
The reputation of VAMC’s hospital can be completely ruined due to breast cancer misdiagnosis. The hospital staff can start perceiving the hospital as a negligent employer who is out to make money without care for the patient outcomes. Others could even end up resigning. The staff who repeatedly commits this medical error could perceive the hospital as a neutral employer who allows them to continue working even if they commit the errors (Johnson, 2019). The patients and their families will perceive the hospital as careless, dishonest, and a killer zone due to medical errors. None of them would want to come to the hospital due to a fear of misdiagnoses' danger outcomes. The hospital will have a bad name to patients, staff, stakeholders, government officials, and others. These different groups will perceive the hospital negatively as a place of death, medical complications, and one that must be avoided.
Impact on the Quality of Performance by the Staff
Cases of breast cancer misdiagnosis will demoralize staff and reduce their job satisfaction levels. As a result, employees will not perform their dues optimally, leading to a dip in the quality of their services in their varying capacities or job designations. The staff members who commit the errors will perform poorly due to the guilt and other negative feelings that realize that they misdiagnosed patients. In this state, these employees will perform below standards or even not perform at all, leading to poor performance quality. The perpetrators may also be laid off by the hospital due to the errors or be penalized by the courts included being de-licensed (Ledger & Turner, 2016). Such outcomes will mean fewer staff and are sure to lead to a decline in performance quality. There will be high employee turnover due to loss of reputation and being overworked. The decreased workforce will have increased workloads and responsibilities due to the loss of likely or trained staff, giving them problems in trying to learn new procedures and duties for continuity. In the process, the quality of performance for the staff will decline.
Direct Impact on the Retention of Staff
There will be a direct negative impact on staff retention. There will be a high turnover due to the number of staff resigning either after committing the misdiagnosis or seeing their colleagues commit the errors. The first group may do so willing due to shame or by being compelled through legal means. Either way, they will no longer be working for the hospital, leading to the staff's loss. New top talent will be unwilling to join the hospital due to the bad reputation the hospital has due to misdiagnosis cases. The new staff that joins the hospital unknowingly of such cases will likely leave the hospital, and the earliest opportunity is meaning the hospital will keep looking for new staff.
Staff Members
The hospital has a total number of 342 staff members and 23 casuals. The number of staff that is likely to leave is about 160. Even though the employee is essential, looking at the holistic impact of their role in the hospital's operations, some irrefutably quality employees are irrefutable. The quality level depends on their knowledge, skills, abilities, work experience, productivity, team player, and others. In this case, out of the 160, 140 are quality employees.
Legal Implications the Organization will Face
The hospital will face some legal implications. The hospital is responsible for actions by its employees. Therefore, whereas an employee may be legalized penalized separately due to a misdiagnosis lawsuit, the hospital will be liable for the employee's actions and must cater to settlement dues set forth by the court. The hospital may suffer legal costs or other consequences of employing a negligent or incompetent employee. Other legal implications could include the closure of the facility or revoke of operational licenses for the hospital.
Issue with the Joint Commission and the Organization's Funds for Not Addressing the Issue
The issues of breast cancer misdiagnosis will undoubtedly bring issues with the joint commission. Breast cancer misdiagnosis at VAMC goes against the objectives, mandate, and standards set out by every hospital's joint commission providing high quality and safe care. It may lead to a reduction in financing due to failure in addressing the issue. It can also negatively affect the hospital's accreditation and certification (Rodziewicz & Hipskind, 2020).
Impact on Facility's Benchmarks
It will lower the hospital’s benchmarks due to the adverse effects of misdiagnosis on patients, including death, high medical costs, and disability, among others. Having persistence in misdiagnosis cases lowers the hospital's quality performances and outcomes and will irrefutably lower its benchmarks.
References
Johnson, B. (2019). Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer through Mammograms.
Ledger, W. L., & Turner, '. J. (2016). Implementation of the findings of a national enquiry into the misdiagnosis of miscarriage in the Republic of Ireland: impact on quality of clinical care. Fertility and Sterility, 105(2) , 417-422.
Murphy, B. L., Ray-Zack, M. D., Reddy, P. N., Choudhr, A. J., Zielinski, M. D., Habermann, E. B., et al. (2018). Breast cancer litigation in the 21st century. Annals of surgical oncology, 25(10) , 2939-2947.
Rodziewicz, T. L., & Hipskind, J. E. (2020). Medical error prevention. StatPearls Publishing.
