I defined risk management in the previous assignment as identifying, analyzing, and responding to risk factors that arise over the course of a company’s operations. A critical part of the assignment involved developing a brief risk management program that our health organization would adopt to help inform its risk management procedures and policies. As a result, this essay provides a high-level overview of the risk management program in action, with the purpose of informing a group of administrative people from a recently formed community health agency in our state who are planning to build risk management procedures and policies.
Function of the accreditation body certified by MIPPA
There are many bodies certified by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Provider Act (MIPPA) whose roles are centered on quality improvement and risk assessment through risk management. MIPPA-accredited entities are also committed to guaranteeing that all healthcare organization employees receive proper training and instruction in areas of task and responsibility execution (Bendixen et al., 2010). Particularly, our organization conforms to standards of the MIPPA-certified body, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). According to Bendixen et al., (2010), AHRQ supports enhanced healthcare quality, efficiency, and safety by developing the information, resources, and data required to boost the health system’s effectiveness and assist patients and health professionals in informed decision-making.
The body executes this mandate by promoting research to develop recommendations to improve the safety, quality, accessibility, equity, and affordability of health care, and collaborates with other federal agencies (i.e. US health department) to ensure such research or evidence is shared and passed across all healthcare organizations (Congress, 2021).Our organization utilizes EHR-based databases to detect high-risk patients, improve services given to such patients, and improve information exchange and communication about patients among care team members. For instance, the organization utilizes databases to deploy risk classification algorithms premised on serious diseases and service consumption, as well as to provide patient involvement and care collaboration services tailored to patients’ relative risks.
Administrative Staff Roles
Organizations have many levels of administration that perform different functions and help develop and sustaining risk management strategies and policies. Risk managers are competent people whose duty comprises planning, evaluating, executing, and reviewing risk management plans to reduce exposure to certain hazards. In executing this mandate, top-level administrators ensure hackers do not gain access to the technologies required to provide exceptional treatment (Jalali & Kaiser, 2018). Accordingly, our health administrators act in various capacities to promote efficiency of our health systems. For example, they implement the organization’s ethical leadership ideals and train the staff on different risk management practices and assist in the advocacy of the best quality health outcomes. In this way, the organization can better avoid risks and promote ethical practices.
How Compliance and Risk Management Programs Promote Patient Engagement, Ethical Practice, and Patient Rights and Duties
Compliance and risk management programs in organizations ensure continuity of ethical practice. In our organization, allied providers maintain the practice standards in that programs that include new recruits are enlightened about the ethics standards they need as practitioners, and address potential risks in care. Programs encourage patient agreement because they reduce the possibility of illegal accessibility to their medical records. The EHR programs safeguard information by eliminating and limiting the risk of unlawful access by personnel (Ayatollahi, & Shagerdi, 2017). Systems that support patients’ various rights and obligations, including as the privacy rights, help to guarantee that their confidentiality is safeguarded by allowing the secure handling of patient data. Overall, the organization maintained right to privacy by following HIPPA privacy standards.
Healthcare Practitioners’ Ethical and Legal Obligations
In our organization, healthcare personnel face a variety of ethical and legal responsibilities for risk management and providing safe treatment. The major task is for patients to obtain informed permission prior to performing surgeries or activities affecting the patient. This role also entails providing patients with all necessary information regarding their ailment and treatment options as part of patient engagement and informed decision making (Vahdat et al., 2014). As Taylor (2014) notes, all care providers must understand that infringing patient privacy can lead to serious ethical and legal ramifications. All healthcare personnel in the organization adhere to HIPPA rules regulating patient privacy. Another role performed by healthcare personnel is safeguarding patients during care (i.e. protecting them from harm). Practitioners understand that harming patients during care is illegal and unethical and can lead to negligence charges (Vahdat et al., 2014). Thus, the organization’s risk management methods ensure that healthcare personnel avoid distinct threats that could lead to legal and ethical issues.
How the Quality Assurance Methods Contribute To and Support the Organization’s Effectiveness
The Quality Assurance Methods Contribute To and Support the Organization’s Effectiveness notably making healthcare processes durable and cost-effective, enabling them to meet their objective of enhancing care delivery and achieving optimum patient outcomes. The organization’s training program ensures new recruits apply contemporary technology in healthcare to enhance efficiency and improve their skills. Using such technologies enhances patient and healthcare provider experience, leading to good healthcare outcomes. Thus, the firm is excellently positioned to improve quality of care delivered to its patients.
Risk management practices are necessary to ascertain that a healthcare institution provides safe and high-quality services. Technology is critical in delivering high-quality treatment to patients since it streamlines healthcare processes while increasing effectiveness. Organizations ensure the efficiency of healthcare while also improving the protection of patient data. Putting in place risk management programs gives firms the tools they need to prevent potential risks.
References
Ayatollahi, H., & Shagerdi, G. (2017). Information Security Risk Assessment in Hospitals. The Open Medical Informatics Journal, 11, 37–43.
Bendixen, Z., Steinberg, M., & Families United for Senior Action Foundation. (2010). Making the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) work: How states can help people with Medicare. Washington, D.C: Families USA.
Congress, U. S. (2021). H.R.6331 – 110th Congress (2007-2008): Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. Congress.gov.
Jalali, M. S., & Kaiser, J. P. (2018). Cybersecurity in Hospitals: A Systematic, Organizational Perspective. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(5), e10059.
Taylor, H. (2014). Promoting a patient’s right to autonomy: Implications for primary healthcare practitioners. Part 1. Primary Health Care, 24(2). Web.
Vahdat, S., Hamzehgardeshi, L., Hessam, S., & Hamzehgardeshi, Z. (2014). Patient involvement in health care decision making: a review. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 16(1), e12454.