Long Term Care Risk Managment Summary

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The Role Risk Management Plays at a Nursing Home
Stephanie Creech
HCS/451
March 26, 2012
Kristen Hauck

The Role Risk Management Plays at a Nursing Home
In April 2009 a jury awarded a $6.5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against a nursing home; the cause of death was lack of water. Perhaps, if the nursing home had an effective risk management team this may not have happened. As one can see risk management is important in any field including healthcare. The role risk management plays in healthcare is important, because controlling risk can mean more resources are available, and a higher quality of care can be achieved. Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and prioritizing, risks of all kinds (whatisriskmangement.net, 2011). So what role does risk management play in healthcare? Any event that may cause an adverse effect on the healthcare facilities ability to perform is considered to be a risk. Risk management in healthcare may be the key for many organizations to reduce costs, improve surveys, reduce negative events, and have a lower professional liability cost. The Joint Commission (2012) defines risk management in healthcare as “the clinical and administrative acts undertaken to identify and evaluate the risk of injury to staff, patients and visitors and the risk to loss of the organization itself”.
Studies have shown that the litigation against nursing homes is on the rise; thus making risk management very important in day to day care. Malpractice insurance premiums for nursing homes are also on the rise; this contributes to bankruptcy and forces many facilities to operate without malpractice coverage (Weinburg M.D & Levine, 2008). This threatens quality of care and access to healthcare for ill elderly people that need round the clock care. Effective risk management in a nursing home requires one to accurately

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