Question

Well develop explanation

How does Risk Management help Patient safety ?

Answer 1

Patient safety is the most important principle in health care. It is a well-accepted concept that all actions of a health care professional must not put the patient's life or wellbeing at risk.

At the heart of the health care organization's services are patients and their safety. Risk management includes that any areas where patient safety may be compromised or where something is identified that may have the potential to cause harm to patients, is managed. Risk Management is a process by which health care agencies identify factors that may prevent us from providing excellent, safe, efficient and effective care. Risk can occur in a variety of ways, for example as a result of changes in how or where an organization delivers services. The aim of risk management is to ensure these risks are identified early, assessed as to the best way to manage or control them and to reduce their effect.

Identifying and reporting safety issues early ensures that the controls can be put in place to reduce the likelihood of those risks occurring again. When an outcome of care or a process is not as expected the health care organization investigates using a process called Root Cause Analysis to identify what happened and why so that an organization can put processes in place to improve safety. The identified cause/s is/are managed and these kinds of incidents are prevented from occurring again by incorporating the newly gained insights into the safety standards of the organization. This will significantly improve patient safety.

Besides that, as part of their risk management organization follow certain protocols and standards in health care. For example, falls prevention is an integral part of pre and post-operative patient care. As a fall can result in severe damage to the patient's health, the risk for falls are assessed and based on the risk level preventive risk management interventions are taken which will result in improved patient's safety and quality care.