Understanding Risk Management in Healthcare: Strategies for Enhancing Safety and Driving Positive Outcomes
Radar Healthcare
Supporting healthcare excellence via incident, risk, audit management, quality improvement, and compliance software.
Risk management in health and social care is essential for maintaining safety and quality in patient and resident care. It involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to prevent harm to residents and patients, staff, and the healthcare environment. Effective risk management programmes are critical in addressing potential hazards before they result in incidents.
In this latest issue of RH Insights, we will address the importance of risk management, what a risk register is, how tech can help, and introduce our Enhanced Risk Register Module.
The importance of Risk Management
Risk management is essential in every field, but its importance is heightened in healthcare. Here are some key reasons why effective risk management is crucial in the health and social care industry, particularly considering key facts from the World Health Organization (WHO) :
1. Prioritising Safety:
The main goal of risk management in healthcare is to protect people from harm. With around 1 in every 10 patients harmed in healthcare settings and over 3 million deaths annually due to unsafe care, proactive measures and strong protocols are vital. Effective risk management can prevent more than 50% of this harm, especially in areas like medication errors and unsafe surgical procedures, ensuring patient safety is central to every decision.
2. Minimising Errors:
Medical errors are unfortunately common and can have severe consequences. Effective risk management strategies can help identify and mitigate these errors, enhancing safety outcomes and care quality. On average up to 80% of this harm can be avoided with the right processes and support in place.
3. Ensuring Financial Stability:
Unmanaged risks not only threaten patient safety but also result in significant financial costs, with patient harm potentially reducing global economic growth by 0.7% annually. Effective risk management reduces these financial risks by minimising adverse events and legal liabilities. Investing in reducing patient harm, such as through patient engagement, can also yield significant financial savings and improve patient outcomes, with potential reductions in harm by up to 15%.
"Since moving to Radar Healthcare and introducing the Risk Register module, we have been able to have a much clearer handle on the management of our risks – utilising the analytics to provide oversights and also identifying our response to risk. The risk review process is thorough but not time consuming and the ability to link risks to Events within this system provides a great method of triangulation to support future risk reviews and help to inform whether risk scores and/or responses should be changed. Some of the recent updates to the module have been helpful in supporting staff on the shop floor with understanding the requirements when logging risks and we’re looking forward to utilising upcoming changes to continue strengthening our management of risk across the organisation." - Simon Geoghegan , Head of Clinical Data Reporting and Governance Systems at Circle Health Group
What is a Risk Register - And How Can Tech Help?
Interestingly, as Harvard Business Review mentions in their article Managing Risks: A New Framework, discussing risks can be a challenge in all areas of business because people often overestimate their control over uncertain events and are overconfident in their predictions. This is compounded by cognitive biases like confirmation bias and groupthink, where individuals and teams focus on supporting evidence while ignoring contradictions. These biases can lead organisations to overlook or misinterpret potential threats, normalising minor failures instead of addressing them.
Effective risk management requires fostering open discussions about potential risks, which is often difficult in high pressure and busy environments.
A strategy for solving this challenge is incorporating an effective risk register. Risk registers serve as a central point for documenting strategies for mitigation and tracking progress on action plans. This shared resource empowers teams, making everyone a stakeholder in the risk management process, as well as promotes transparency and fosters an open dialogue.
A well-maintained risk register helps organisations prioritise risks based on their severity and likelihood, ensuring that the most critical issues receive the attention they deserve. It also promotes accountability, as each risk is assigned to a specific individual or team responsible for managing it. This ensures that risks are not just identified but actively addressed, with clear action plans and timelines for resolution.
Incorporating technology into risk register management enhances its effectiveness by streamlining the identification, documentation, and monitoring of risks. Digital platforms offer automated alerts, real-time updates, and advanced data analytics to identify patterns and predict risks accurately. They also provide a comprehensive audit trail, ensuring compliance and demonstrating proactive risk management to stakeholders.
By digitising your risk register, you not only enhance risk management but also free up valuable time for your team to focus on their core responsibilities. This approach allows your organisation to manage risks more effectively while empowering employees to concentrate on delivering high-quality care and driving positive outcomes.
"You can't manage it if you don't measure it! The future of health and social care really has to have a strong focus on routinely collecting electronic data that is not only automated but easily displayed, interpreted, and accessible to track, monitor, and demonstrate improvements, as well as flag up risk. Adopting a proactive approach is important." - Gillian Leng CBE , Non–Exec Board Member at Radar Healthcare
Introducing Radar Healthcare's Enhanced Risk Register
Effective risk management is crucial for ensuring patient safety and maintaining high standards of care. To shed light on our latest advancements in this field, we spoke with Eleanor (Ellie) Jordan , the Account Director and project lead for Radar Healthcare’s Enhanced Risk Register.
In this quick-fire Q&A, Ellie discusses the importance of recognising and reporting risks, introduces the new module, and highlights the key features and benefits that set Radar Healthcare apart in the market.
Q. Firstly, Ellie, can you please introduce yourself and your role in this project?
A. Hi, I’m Ellie Jordan, the Account Director, former Product Owner, and project lead for the Enhanced Risk Register at Radar Healthcare. My role as the project lead involved overseeing the development and implementation of our risk management solution to ensure they meet the needs of our partners and the health and social care industry.
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Q. Why is reporting on and recognising risks within health and social care important and how can digital tech add value?
A. Reporting on and recognising risks within health and social care is crucial because it directly impacts the safety and quality of care provided to patients and residents. Identifying risks early allows for timely interventions that can prevent harm. Digital technology adds significant value by enabling real-time risk identification, streamlined reporting processes, and comprehensive data analysis. This enhances decision-making and helps in creating safer healthcare environments.
Q. Can you introduce the new module and its impact on our partners when reporting risk?
A. Yes! Our new Enhanced Risk Register module is designed to provide our partners with a more robust and intuitive platform for managing risks. It allows for better tracking, analysis, and reporting of risks within their organisations. So far, the impact on our partners has been very positive, allowing for more efficient risk management processes, ensuring that potential issues are addressed proactively and effectively.
“It is important that the risk register module is easy to use for staff and provides the organisation with information for monitoring assurance purposes. We have used this module for 2 years now and the changes made by the Beta group have helped provide more robust information. Staff find the module easy to use, and particularly the ability to easily record controls and confirm if they are implemented. We look forward to future developments to this module.” - Marion Shipman , Head of Quality and Governance at North West Surrey Integrated Care Services (NICs)
Q. What are the primary objectives of the enhancements? What are the key changes or new features being introduced in the enhanced risk register?
A. The primary objectives of the enhancements are to improve user experience, increase the accuracy and efficiency of risk reporting, and provide more actionable insights. Key changes and new features include:
🚀 Updates to Controls: We’ve focused on making it simpler and more efficient to add controls to risks. Previously, the process involved several steps, but now, with a streamlined approach, users can add controls seamlessly, saving time and clicks.
🔒 Enhancements to Assurance: Formerly known as the “Board Assurance Step,” we’ve renamed it to just “Assurance” for broader applicability. Additionally, various updates have been made to this step, enhancing its functionality and relevance across different organisational contexts.
✅ New Approval Step: Introducing a brand-new approval step, providing users with the ability to approve risks directly within the register. This adds an extra layer of safeguarding and ensures that risks are thoroughly reviewed before proceeding.
📊 Analytics: We are enhancing our analytics dashboards to provide better visibility and deeper insights into organisational risks. This update will enable tracking of various operational aspects, such as overdue risks, uncontrolled risks, and the responsibility and accountability of risks. Additionally, it will offer insights into risk escalation and de-escalation, trends over time, and comparisons of target versus actual scores.
Q. Which features have our customers been most impressed with?
A. Our customers have been most impressed with the enhanced reporting tools, real-time alerts, and the intuitive user interface. These features have significantly streamlined their risk management processes and provided them with better control over risk identification and mitigation.
Q. What are the top 3 benefits to our partners?
“Radar Healthcare is helping us to see a real picture of risk across our organisation and we can then use this picture to build up a meaningful risk register (also embedded into the system). The analytics give you 'at a glance' information and the 'heat maps' are particularly informative.” - Capterra Review
Q. How have we identified the needs and expectations of our customers regarding the risk register?
A. We have conducted extensive consultations with our customers, gathering feedback through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Additionally, we’ve analysed usage data and industry trends to understand their needs and expectations better. This customer-centric approach has guided the development of our enhanced risk register.
Key stakeholders involved in these enhancements include our existing customers, such as Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, North West Surrey Integrated Care Services, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and more. Their feedback and collaboration have been invaluable in shaping the new features and improvements.
Moving forward, we will ensure that the risk register remains aligned with evolving customer needs and industry standards by maintaining an ongoing dialogue with our customers, continuously monitoring industry developments, and regularly updating our software to incorporate the latest best practices and regulatory requirements.
Q. Finally, what sets Radar Healthcare apart from other solutions on the market?
A. Radar Healthcare stands out from other solutions on the market due to our comprehensive, all-in-one compliance solution. We offer a wide range of features that not only address risk management but also encompass other critical areas such as incident management, audits, and compliance tracking. Our user-centric design, advanced analytics, and commitment to continuous improvement make us a preferred choice for health and social care providers.
In summary, effectively managing risk is crucial in healthcare to ensure patient safety and operational excellence. Technology plays a key role in this process, offering tools that enhance risk identification, streamline management, and provide actionable insights. Embracing these digital solutions not only improves outcomes but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and transparency.
"What is really helpful about Radar Healthcare’s Risk Management module are the reminder prompts, such as risks due for review and agreed dates for completing actions being due. We can easily see the status of actions and reviews required, and any flags that may be overdue. The automated notification function also provides useful prompt reminders to prevent expiry of planned requirements. Performance of risk management can be easily monitored." - Darren Davies, Head of Quality and Compliance for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
Want to learn more about Radar Healthcare's Enhanced Risk Register?
Stay tuned for our upcoming What the HealthTech? podcast on September 5th, featuring Eleanor (Ellie) Jordan and Mark Fewster , where we’ll dive into our new risk register module. Subscribe to our channel for updates or visit our website to learn more about how our Risk Management solution can benefit your organisation.
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4moExcited to dive into the new RH Insights issue—enhancing risk management with cutting-edge technology is crucial for better patient outcomes!