Assessment Description
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze how an organization\’s quality and improvement processes contribute to its risk management program.
This assignment builds on the Risk Management Program Analysis – Part One assignment you completed in Topic 1 of this course.
Assume that the sample risk management program you analyzed in Topic 1 was implemented and is now currently in use by your health care employer/organization. Further assume that your supervisor has asked you to create a highâ€level summary brief of this new risk management program to share with a group of administrative personnel from a newly created community health organization in your state who has enlisted your organization\’s assistance in developing their own risk management policies and procedures.
Compose a 1,250â€1,500 word summary brief that expands upon the elements you first addressed in the Topic 1 assignment. In this summary brief, address the following points regarding your health care organization and its risk management program:
Explain the role of your organization\’s MIPPA-approved accreditation body (e.g., JC, ACR, IAC) in the evaluation of your institution\’s quality improvement and risk management processes.
Describe the roles that different levels of administrative personnel play in healthcare ethics and establishing or sustaining employer/employee-focused organizational risk management strategies and operational policies.
Illustrate how your organization\’s risk management and compliance programs support ethical standards, patient consent, and patient rights and responsibilities.
Explain the legal and ethical responsibilities health care professionals face in upholding risk management policies and administering safe health care at your organization.
Relate how your organization\’s quality improvement processes support and contribute to its overall journey to excellence.
In addition to your textbook, you are required to support your analysis with a minimum of three peerâ€reviewed references.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS Health Sciences
3.3 Explain the ethical and legal responsibilities of health care professionals related to risk management assessment and policies
I WILL SENDING YOU AN EMAIL TO ATTACH THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ANALYSIS PAPER YOU WROTE 2 WEEKS AGO WHICH THE PROFESSOR SAID WE SHOULD REFER TO IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS PAPER
Risk Management Program in Health Care
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Risk Management Program in Health Care
Introduction
Safety is a priority in any healthcare facility and is often considered a measure of the quality of care provided. A risk management plan entails clinical and administrative processes, reports, and systems employed to monitor, detect, assess, prevent, and address risks (Boyle, 2019). The previously developed risk management plan focused on reducing the risk of falls in the geriatric population within the community. Falls have become a health concern both at the community and organizational level. Falls lead to detrimental health influence and is an indicator of poor quality health care (Boyle, 2019). In that regard, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how the organization’s quality and improvement processes contribute to its risk management program.
The Role of Joint Commission in Evaluating the Organization’s Quality Improvement (QI) and Risk Management Process
The Joint Commission was reflected in the risk management program. The Joint Commission (JC) is an independent not-for-profit organization established in 1951. It credits more than 20,000 health care programs in the United States (The Joint Commission, 2022). The Joint Commission, therefore, has a special role to play in the evaluation of the risk management program. The organization aims to avoid medication errors and non-compliance in health care facilities. It does its job by evaluating the factors that may hinder patient safety and care (The Joint Commission, 2022). Regarding the risk management program, the commission will evaluate whether it is efficient in preventing falls in older patients.
The Joint Commission pays a visit to the hospital between 18 and 36 months from the last hospital survey. During the visits, they select patients to complete surveys regarding their experience during the hospital stay. The Joint Commission evaluates the quality of risk management plans in place to reduce risks and enhance quality care (The Joint Commission, 2022). The commission helps health care organizations to gain a reputation by awarding accreditations. If the risk management plan is congruent to the set health care standards, the Joint Commission will offer accreditation.
The MIPPA-approved accreditation body requires the health care organizations to establish plans of action to improve quality and safety to satisfy the JC standards. The accreditation is important because it demonstrates commitment and compliance to patient safety (The Joint Commission, 2022). The organization traces patients’ experiences while obtaining care, arrival, registration, and administration process. It also traces patients’ experiences while receiving care, focusing on communication, medication management, and others (The Joint Commission, 2022). The Joint Commission also evaluates a specific program’s risk and safety concerns within an organization, such as the one being discussed in this paper.
Roles of various Administrative Personnel
The administrative personnel have a special to play to promote, establish, and sustain the risk management plan. Several individuals in administrative positions are deeply involved in the program (Boyle, 2019). The risk manager is a very useful person in this case. He produces an overview of the possible risk and opportunities associated with the project to enhance the management’s decision-making. The personnel prepare risk management and insurance budgets and allocate claim costs and premiums to departments and divisions. The project manager is also involved in the establishment and sustainability of the risk management project. The project manager works in liaison with the risk managers and others (Boyle, 2019). He oversees the entire process of the project implementation.
The cost controller helps in defining and tracking the costs of the project. Furthermore, the organization’s CEO and director, if any, are responsible to ensure the continuity of the risk management project (Boyle, 2019). They have the role of overall overseer of all organizational operations. The nurse managers and ward managers, chief medical officer, and heads of departments are all responsible for supervising the juniors to ensure all the risk management guidelines are followed. They also ensure the organization is compliant in terms of the physical structure and other areas (Boyle, 2019). overall, it is the individual responsibility of everyone to ensure and maintain patient safety.
How do the Organization’s Risk Management and Compliance Programs Support Ethical Standards?
The risk management and compliance program promote ethical standards, patients’ rights and responsibility, and patient consent in one way or the other. There are some outstanding ethical principles in nursing that every program, treatment regimen, and the decision made in healthcare must adhere to (DeMarco et al., 2019). The principle of beneficence is one of the most important ethical standards in healthcare. The risk management and compliance programs are believed to bring benefits to geriatric patients. The program is meant to prevent or reduce the risks of falls, hence, promoting the principle of non-maleficence. The principle of non-maleficence requires that all the activities and programs undertaken in a health care setting should not cause any harm to the patient (DeMarco et al., 2019). The risk management and compliance project are developed to reduce the harm associated with falls in the geriatric population. Therefore, it does not cause any harm to the patients.
The risk management and compliance program uphold patients’ consent and autonomy. Before applying for the risk management program, the patient is informed of the importance and all activities and steps involved (DeMarco et al., 2019). Furthermore, the health care providers inform the patients about all the benefits and risks (if any) associated with the program. The patients are allowed to decide by themselves whether they agree to participate in the program. Patient autonomy is very important in health care and must be upheld all the time. Therefore, patients’ right to quality care, right to safety, and right to justice are all depicted in the program (DeMarco et al., 2019). Patients’ responsibility for self-care is enhanced through the provision of necessary skills to prevent falls in the geriatric population.
Legal and Ethical Responsibilities Health Care Professionals Face in Upholding Risk Management Policies
Health care professionals tend to face several ethical and legal responsibilities in trying to uphold risk management policies. Certain challenges hinder health care professionals’ legal and ethical responsivities in upholding the risk management policies (DeMarco et al., 2019). Patients’ preferences, choices, and autonomy is a big challenge in this case. Patient autonomy may conflict with the legal and ethical responsibility of care providers to ensure patient safety. For instance, if the patient’s preference and autonomy are against getting involved in the risk management project, the healthcare professionals’ ethical and legal responsibility to uphold such policies is compromised.
To hold these policies effectively, it is the ethical and legal responsibility of care providers to educate patients accordingly to allow them to understand the need for the interventions. Patient education will prevent cases where patient preferences and autonomy conflict with the risk management policies hence, hindering the whole process (DeMarco et al., 2019). Health care professionals are also required to uphold compliance as per the guidelines. Health care practice is about discipline and rules that must be followed to the later. Health care providers should give their best in advising patients and maintaining their environment to ensure the risk management requirements are followed appropriately (DeMarco et al., 2019). Consultation with other professionals is very important in cases where patients refuse to follow these policies to find a legal and ethical way of solving such issues (DeMarco et al., 2019). These legal and ethical responsibilities should be kept in check always.
How do The QI Processes Contribute to Its Overall Journey to Excellence?
The organization’s quality improvement processes contribute to its overall success in one way or the other. The main aim of quality improvement processes is to promote and improve the quality of health care and patient outcomes. According to Allen-Duck et al. (2017), quality improvement aims to standardize processes and structure to achieve predictable results, reduce variations, and improve patient outcomes, as well as, help achieve organizational goals. In this particular case, the risk management and compliance program will reduce the number of falls in geriatric patients in the healthcare facility. It will help improve the environment to enhance patient safety (Allen-Duck et al., 2017). As a result, the overall organizational goal to enhance patient safety and improve patient outcomes will be achieved.
Conclusion
Safety is an important element in healthcare. Falls are indicators of poor safety measures and patient outcomes. The risk management plan focused on reducing falls in geriatric patients. The Joint Commission plays an important in evaluating the risk management plan to ensure it adheres to essential healthcare standards. Different administrative personnel have also played a significant role in ensuring the sustainability of the program. Health care professionals are not left behind; they perform the bigger part by implementing the program. The risk management plan complies with various ethical and legal issues. Hence, contributing to the overall organizational journey to excellence.
References
Allen-Duck, A., Robinson, J. C., & Stewart, M. W. (2017). Healthcare Quality: A Concept Analysis. Nursing Forum, 52(4), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12207.
Boyle, T. (2019). Health and safety: Risk management. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
DeMarco, J. P., Jones, G. E., & Daly, B. J. (2019). Ethical & legal issues in nursing. Broadview Press.
The Joint Commission. (2022). Accreditation & Certification. https://www.jointcommission.org/accreditation-and-certification/