Responsibilities for Risk Management at Operational Management Level - Essay Example

Operational Risk Management Concept of Risk Management Risk to Healthcare Services Hospital Operational risk management approach is d to be one of the key factors, which are used in different industries for monitoring organizational activities and measuring diverse risk issues. Operational risk also plays an active role in organizational activities of healthcare hospitals. Healthcare organizations are constantly being exposed to several risks such as strategic risk, financial risk, operational risk as well as health and safety risk in performing its organizational activities. Moreover, healthcare hospitals are also experiencing different types of risks apart from the operational risks that include environmental risk, issues and risk relating to human resources (Jiménez-Rodríguez, Feria-Domínguez & Sebastian-Lacave, 2013). Besides, the operational risks also include death risk of numerous patients, which occurs due to medication errors, diagnoses as well as surgical issues. The previously mentioned challenges relating to healthcare sectors such as medicational, diagnoses and surgical errors are categorised under the occupational health and safety risk. In the healthcare sector, the medicinal risks are deemed a vital risk, which raise the motility rate of human beings. It has also been evident in various instances that improper prescriptions of medications by the healthcare hospitals are regarded to be one of the most common risk factors for the human beings. Besides, a lack of proper medical infrastructure has raised the risk factor in terms of providing inappropriate prescriptions by the hospitals, which can lead the patients towards greater risks (Kenett & Raanan, 2010). Responsibilities for Risk Management at Operational Management Level The facet of risk management remains to be one of the most significant factors for all the organisations belonging to different industries to work in an effective manner. Risk management plays an active role for providing proper support to the organisations for its better growth and sustainability. The proper implication of risk management strategies for reducing risks relating to organizations’ operations is noted to be very important for bringing success within the organizations. The overall responsibility at operational management level aims towards proper risk management to deal with risks related to healthcare organizations. Besides, taking effective management strategies of risk is noted to be an integral part of healthcare organizations as it helps to improve the trust of the stakeholders towards the healthcare organizations (Jiménez-Rodríguez et al., 2013). The principle responsibility of the healthcare hospitals is to minimize the potential risks arising in different operations as well as increase the trust and credibility of the stakeholders towards the organizations. Reducing potential harm relating to patients’ health conditions remains the key responsibility of the healthcare hospitals. Moreover, the healthcare hospitals operational management level needs to remain more focused upon developing the conditions of staff and visitors by eliminating several risks relating to the healthcare organizations. It has been the key responsibility to pay attention upon protecting the value of every product and service by enhancing the high standard of the patient care and safety of staff as well as increasing the reputation of the organization at large. Furthermore, the healthcare organizations also need to develop their risk management strategies in order to deal with a large number of external and changing circumstances such as environmental, social along with legal factors. Moreover, the healthcare organizations should also take proper responsibility towards ensuring better risk management policies within the units, which are directly related with meeting acute health and safety needs of their stakeholders (Hop One Internet Corporation, 2015). Risk Management Model Risk management is noted as a systematic process for identifying and analysing the risks, which are inherent with the operational processes of healthcare organizations. The risk management model of a healthcare organization comprises five different levels of managerial approach including ‘risk identification’, ‘qualitative risk analysis’, ‘quantitative risk analysis’, ‘risk response planning’ and ‘risk monitoring and risk control’. This process is directly related with identifying and reducing risks relating to healthcare organizations. Risk identification is the initial stage of the risk management model, which primarily relates with the aspect of identification of on-going problems and issues within the organization. Through applying the systematic risk identifying process, the healthcare organization will be able to deal with several challenges (Joint Commission International, 2013). The process of risk identification is mainly used during the ongoing projects or any operational activities within the healthcare hospitals. In risk identification, the model comprises assessment of two different types of risk analysis i.e. qualitative risk analysis as well as quantitative risk analysis. The qualitative risk is related with the administrative risk analysis, which focuses upon determining the possible internal operational activity issues of the company. On the other hand, internal activities include errors in medication, surgical as well as errors relating to managing the safety of patients. Essentially, the qualitative risks of hospitals are highly associated with the treatment process of the patients. Moreover, the quantitative risk is highly associated with financial risk, which is faced by the hospitals during treating patients. Specifically, the quantitative risk is also associated with the treatment cost of patients. Therefore, the authorities of the healthcare hospitals manage the financial risks by analysing those risks earlier than its possible incidence. After identifying the risks, the healthcare organizations make plans to reduce the problems and respond accordingly for mitigating those risks. Finally, through applying the risk monitoring and controlling process, the healthcare organizations will be able to provide better healthcare services to the patients and monitor the aspects based on which risks can be minimized (Kenett & Raanan, 2010). Identification of Risk and Risk Probability Justify Risk Management Criteria The risk management criteria are regarded to be one of the most significant factors for reducing the level of risks from the operational process of organizations. With respect to applying the approach of risk management criteria, the organizations need to consider several different perspectives of the organizational operations. In this regard, the healthcare organizations are needed to be more careful regarding managing the risks as it is adequately associated with the health condition of patients. There are ten different risk management criteria, which are used for evaluating or assessing the risks relating to organizations. In order to identify the risks, the healthcare organizations remain focused upon developing a clear set of objectives and enterprise wide authority for managing its activities effectively. In order to identify the risks, which are inherent with the organizational activities, the healthcare organizations focus on establishing a clear set of objectives (Martin, 2002). Besides, the healthcare organizations should also include all risks, which are inherent with their operational activities by including entire set of risks during the assessment process, which would enable the healthcare organizations to evaluate several areas of risks in a proper manner. After evaluating numerous types of sources of risks, the healthcare organizations are also able to pay attention towards the key risk factors of the healthcare organizations that are most likely to impact and influence the operations. Additionally, after identifying the key areas of risks associated with the operational activities of healthcare organizations, adequate attention is provided towards integrating the characteristics of the risk criteria. Conversely, the actual risk in the healthcare organizations associated with the treatment process of the patient is noted to be one of the most significant elements of this entire process of risk assessment. The criteria of risk assessment of healthcare organizations are also evaluated concerning the various sources of risks during the assessment process. After the assessment process, the healthcare organizations evaluate the actual reasons behind the possible risks. In this regard, the healthcare organizations by determining the possible reasons of risk will be able to take decisions relating to eliminating those risks (Rychetnik, Frommer, Hawe & Shiell, 2002). Identify and Evaluate Techniques to Specify Risk and Risk Interdependencies Risk is an unavoidable part of the organizational activities and in the context of healthcare organizations; associated risks are noted to be a vital and an inseparable part. The risk management activity is regarded as a systematic process, which comprises the involvement of a series of stages such as reorganisation of risk, risk assessment as well as the development of risk mitigation strategies. The healthcare hospitals are also focusing upon evaluating several risks associated with their operational activities. Clinical risks are noted to be a significant factor that has been associated with the healthcare services organizations. The operations and risk management department of the healthcare organization are responsible for identifying the actual risks and problems that have been associated with its internal activities. In this regard, clinical risk is adequately associated with safety of patients. Besides, healthcare organizations are using a variety of methods for managing a large number of clinical risks associated with patient safety. In order to identify the risks as well as risk interdependencies, healthcare hospitals adopt a few strategies such as setting out medical educational programmes, data collection with respect to related issues along with reporting errors to effectively manage the risk. Furthermore, it has been delineated that the clinical risks are adequately dependent upon the patent safety (Briner, Kessler, Pfeiffer, Wehner & Manser, 2010). Risk Management Model to Quantify Risk The risk management model is responsible for quantifying the risks that are associated with the healthcare practices. In order to quantify the clinical risks that have been adequately associated with the operational activities of the healthcare hospitals, the clinical risk management strategy is implemented. This model has been developed with four-step process, i.e. ‘identification of risk’, ‘assessing the frequency and severity of the risks’, ‘reducing or eliminating the risk’ as well as ‘assessing the costs saved by reducing the risk or the costs’ if the risk arises. Medical professionals are highly concerned towards the risks that are associated with health condition of patients. During performing the risk management programs, the healthcare organizations should focus upon gathering relevant information relating to numerous types of clinical problems and issues. Apart from this, the healthcare organizations identify several requirements that can be used for eliminating multifaceted clinical risks associated with patient safety (Briner et al., 2010). Evaluate Internal and External Resources Used to Meet Plans Evaluate the Level of Risks against Pre-Established Criteria The risk management approach is regarded to be one of the most significant criteria for reducing the different levels of risks that are inherent within organizations. In the healthcare hospitals, the risk management concept is highly important for developing the treatment and other service procedures that are provided to its patients. Furthermore, the risk management criteria of healthcare hospitals are paying a significant as well as active role for ensuring the supply of adequately safe and better healthcare services to the patients belonging to different ages. As the hospitals are responsible for providing healthcare treatment facilities to several people, therefore they should take few precautionary steps for reducing the level of risk relating to their service facilities (Joint Commission International, 2013). Besides, the notion of patients’ safety is continuously becoming a growing concern for healthcare organizations. Correspondingly, the healthcare organizations should develop their risk management processes or risk management criteria for ensuring proper safety of their patients. The healthcare hospitals should take a number of precautionary statements, which would help to reduce the risk of numerous defective work structures. Moreover, the pre-established criteria developed by healthcare hospitals can ensure and prevent the risks of accidents, injuries as well as several others adverse occurrences in different types of healthcare activities. The concept of pre-established criteria for reducing risks will include prevention and reduction of numerous types of adverse events such as accidents, injuries as well as any death occurrences due to the failure of healthcare treatments. Moreover, pre-established risk management criteria can facilitate the healthcare providers by supporting the patients along with their employees by reducing a large number of accidents (Dückers, Faber, Cruijsberg, Grol, Schoonhoven & Wensing, 2009). Correspondingly, the pre-established risk criteria are noted to be a vital factor for the organizations, especially for healthcare hospitals as they are adequately involved in dealing with the safety of human beings. The assessment of pre-established criteria of evaluating risks is noted to be a vulnerable factor within the healthcare organizations, as uncertainty regarding the future risks at times might not be able to be assessed easily (Dückers et al., 2009). Select and Evaluate Activities to Eliminate, Mitigate, Deflect or Accept Risk Risk management or mitigation strategy is related to be one of the most significant approaches for ensuring better growth and sustainability of patient care within the organizations. The healthcare organizations consider the risk mitigation and planning process to be an interactive approach to maintain their operational activities. Notably, every organisation is likely to face various risks, which in turn can hinder their overall growth and sustainability. Contextually, risks associated with the organisational operational activities can create a set of barriers in the development process of an organization. Therefore, the risk mitigation strategies are also denoted as an integral part of the operational activities of healthcare hospitals for reducing the level of risk (Briner, Manser & Kessler, 2015). There are a large number of approaches that has been used for dealing with several risk factors that are associated with the healthcare organizations. The risk mitigation handling approach comprises several factors such as assume and aspect, avoid, control, transfer as well as watch and monitor the issues that are possible to arise. Besides, assume and accept is a risk mitigation strategy that has been used for mitigating the risks and several other adverse incidences that are taking place within the organization. Apparently, the acknowledgement of any particular risk is noted to be an initial step for mitigating risk in the operational activity. The healthcare organizations are needed to take proper decisions for developing a strategy to eliminate several risks from their operations (Briner et al., 2015). In this regard, after acknowledging, the risk associated with healthcare organizations the risk management authority can avert the risks by developing highly effective risk management programmes. Relatively, by using the risk management concept the healthcare organizations implement a few controlling activities that can assist them in minimizing the concept of risks that are associated with the operational activities of the healthcare organization. In this context, healthcare organization transfers the authority to a person who is highly capable of handling the risks along with all other responsibilities of the unit (Dückers et al., 2009). Process for Implementing and Managing a Disaster Recovery Plan Disaster recovery plan plays a significant role for every organisation, which is mainly perceived and designed with the purpose of ensuring the smooth continuation of vital operational processes during the event of possible issues. The disaster management plan is mainly used for monitoring several risks related activities, which has been used for treating patients within healthcare hospitals. Disaster management plan formulation can possibly facilitate the healthcare providers to render an effective solution to eliminate the vital risks and many other problems in delivering acute care to patients. Apparently, the disaster management plan is also regarded as contingency plan regarding reducing the possible risks relating to operational activities of the organizations. Specifically mentioning, the disaster recovery plan is noted to be an integral part of the healthcare organizations, as it acts as a possible solution to mitigate the issues that may arise in the real scenario. Five different steps that are involved in reducing risks relating to healthcare organizations have been depicted below (Hop One Internet Corporation, 2015). References Briner, M., Kessler, O., Pfeiffer, Y., Wehner, T. & Manser, T. (2010). Assessing hospitals’ clinical risk management: Development of a monitoring instrument. Health Services Research, 10(337), 1-11. Briner, M., Manser, T. & Kessler, O. (2015). Clinical risk management in hospitals: strategy, central coordination and dialogue as key enablers. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 19, 363–369. Dückers, M., Faber, M., Cruijsberg, J., Grol, R., Schoonhoven, L. & Wensing, M. (2009). Safety and risk management in hospitals. The Health Foundation, 1-36. Hop One Internet Corporation. (2015). 5 steps to prepare a disaster recovery plan. Recovery Planning, 1-16. Jiménez-Rodríguez, E., Feria-Domínguez, J. M. & Sebastian-Lacave, A. (2013). Assessing the operational risk in the health care sector: a loss distribution approach. Annual Paris Business and Social Science Research Conference, 1- 19. Joint Commission International. (2013). Joint commission international accreditation standards for hospital. Accreditation Participation Requirements, 1-72. Kenett, R. S., & Raanan, Y. (2010). Operational Risk Management: A practical approach to intelligent data analysis. Journal of Operational Risk, 1-43. Martin, B. C. (2002). Disaster recovery plan strategies and processes. SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room, 1-14. Rychetnik, L., Frommer, M., Hawe, P. & Shiell, A. (2002). Criteria for evaluating evidence on public health interventions. Journal Epidemiology Community Health, 56, 119-127. Read More