Risk Management Program for Maximizing Patient Safety

Risk Management Program Analysis
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Risk Management Program Analysis: Part Two
In a medical facility, the purpose of a risk management program is to ensure that the safety of patients and members of the medical facility is safeguarded. The risk management program is purposed to ensure that each member of the medical facility contributes towards promoting the safety of patients. Teamwork and involvement among managers and healthcare providers are required for the success of the risk management program. The implementation of the program will be facilitated through a systematic set of activities and functions of several departments within the medical facility.
Purpose of the Risk Management Program
Risks to patients, medical personnel, and organizations are prevalent in healthcare. Thus, it is wise for an organization to have a risk management program to evaluate, develop, implement, and monitor risks within an organization. In an organization, there are many priorities such as safety, finance, and most importantly, patient care.
The risk management program contains several areas that must be considered before its implementation. First, the medical facility should invest money and time in audits. Auditing medical services help in the prevention of medical malpractice claims by lowering incidents of medical errors. In a special issue titled Risk Management in the Digital World, it is evidenced that medical errors pose a potential risk to patients and medical personnel. Medical errors occur because of negligence by health workers (Harris & Younggren, 2011, pg 416). For example, failing to follow the standard rules and procedures while attending to a patient or administering medication can have detrimental effects on the patient’s health.
In healthcare settings, medical practitioners face many hazards in the workplace. Commercial cleaning products, hazardous chemicals, pesticides, sterilants, and disinfectants are just a few examples. Healthcare providers need to know how to protect themselves, co-workers, patients, and the broader community from unwanted exposures (ANA, 2006). Medical practitioners should follow the instructions listed on medical equipment and hazardous chemicals. If such instructions are not followed, there is a high likeability for medical errors and accidents due to mishandling of chemicals. Laboratory technicians are required to be thorough when analyzing samples because the treatment prescribed to patients is based on the laboratory reports. Wrong laboratory reports may result in misdiagnosis. Such medical errors can cause the death of a patient and result in legal consequences for the medical facility. The auditing of health services significantly contributes to the reduction of medical errors.
Successful auditing is not restricted to medical practitioners; it extends to the entire medical setting. The audit should examine the effectiveness and efficiency of medical equipment being used to facilitate treatment and confirm if they are up to par with the medical standards. Members of the medical team should also be audited to determine whether they are proficient and reduce the chance of having unqualified providers. Overall, auditing involves the evaluation and improvement of the quality of care provided to patients. Auditing is of crucial importance in the daily medical practice and the health policy planning and financing (Esposito & Canton, 2014).
Another area that should be examined before the risk management policy is implemented is a misdiagnosis of patients. In contemporary society, burnout among healthcare providers is a growing concern, given its link to medical errors. In the United States, medical errors are a leading cause of death, resulting in as many as 440,000 fatalities each year (James, 2013). Much of the blame for this statistic might be due to a broken healthcare system. Nurses have inadequate time to care for their patients, which leads to burnout, lower quality treatment, and increased likelihood of medical errors. Such issues have resulted in the increased cases of misdiagnosis in patients. The establishment of the risk management program will ensure that there is accuracy when tests are being carried out and when medication is being administered. Initiatives such as these will ensure that misdiagnosis is eliminated.
The risk management program will also vie for the implementation of penalties related to the wrong diagnosis. The implementation of penalties will force health care providers to be thorough...