Managing Risk in Your Practice

From the moment new staff join your organisation, ensure risk is on the agenda, encouraging all staff to take responsibility for recognising, preventing, minimising, monitoring and disclosing risks. Such risks can include near misses, adverse events, opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvements, scope of practice & competency, codes of practice, compliance with legal and accreditation requirements, cybersecurity & data management, privacy and confidentiality, informed consent, infection prevention and control, vaccine cold chain processes, emergency response planning, work health & safety and medication management.

Here are some key ‘touchpoints’ for effective risk management in your practice;

• Are risks described in position descriptions?
• Do you discuss risks at orientation/induction?
• How often are risks explored at regular staff meetings?
• How well is risk management demonstrated by all staff and especially by leaders?
• To what extent are risks assessed as part of staff performance/feedback?

Using the appropriate accreditation framework(s) for your type of healthcare service will provide you with an excellent foundation for managing risks well.

Maintain a risk register and keep it updated

Use a SIMPLE risk register that is easy to populate and keep updated. We can help you with such a risk management tool that includes about 50 common risks in health care to get you started. Using a simple scoring methodology, easily identify your specific high-risk areas and develop response strategies accordingly. This register will also enable you to review risks regularly and identify trends – whether risks are increasing, stable or decreasing.

Share the register with your team and obtain their input!

Insurance

A key strategy to mitigate and treat risks includes insurances for critical components of your services and the following should be included in your annual reviews:

• Building and contents
• Business Interruption (including cybersecurity)
• Professional indemnity (clinicians)
• Public Liability
• Practice insurance (clinic employees)
• Workers compensation
• Vehicles