Introduction
One of the principal concerns of present-day healthcare administrators is the need to manage risks related to various aspects of medical facilities’ activity. It is primarily addressed through different initiatives intended to measure principal indicators and develop programs to eliminate the revealed issues (Clark & Sine, 2019). However, their efforts seem insufficient to cover all areas of influence and distinguish actions applicable to each case. Therefore, this paper aims to present the current situation of risk assessment in healthcare, describe the role of evidence-based design, and consider inefficiencies in patient safety and workforce retention with the ways to eliminate them.
Risk Assessment in Healthcare Organizations
The field’s overall status can be examined through the application of particular assessment tools developed by medical specialists involved in the initiatives concerning risks inherent in healthcare. For this purpose, they classify them into such categories as patient safety, ethics, human resources, workforce retention, quality outcomes, risk financing, and many other areas (Clark & Sine, 2019). Subsequently, these aspects are evaluated with the help of reports prepared by risk managers whose decisions, in turn, are made based on their observations (Clark & Sine, 2019). In this way, the outcome of such initiatives allows for further planning of interventions required in the context of a single medical facility.
The Role of Evidence-Based Design
The assessment procedure described above is an invaluable approach contributing to timely action which minimizes the adverse effects of different issues regarding risks for patients and the personnel. Nevertheless, it is incomplete without the adoption of evidence-based measures forming an essential part of medical institutions’ analysis. They present the initiatives focused on particular problems such as staff injury, medication error, infection rates, or patient falls (Clark & Sine, 2019). In this way, the approach based on the evidence received in the context of a medical facility plays a significant role in ensuring the correspondence of developed plans to actual needs.
Inefficiencies in Patient Safety and Transformation
One of the principal areas which include inefficiencies addressed through various initiatives mentioned above is patient safety. This aspect of healthcare institutions’ activity positively correlates with the overall quality of provided care and, therefore, presents a vast field of responsibility (Tres et al., 2016). Therefore, it is the leading direction of work for medical specialists who claim that technological progress is contrasted by the need to ensure the positive outcome of treatment (Tres et al., 2016). This challenge implies the necessity to transform the existing systems for the patients’ benefit.
This field of high risk can be improved by healthcare workers with the use of assessment tools. Their practical implication is connected to proper management of safety since these instruments reveal each facility’s problems without generalization (Tres et al., 2016). Hence, the existing evaluation mechanisms are related to patient identification and the creation of a favorable environment regarding the specificities of their conditions (Tres et al., 2016). In this way, the transformation of the system can be performed with consideration of risks attributed to each specific case.
Inefficiencies in Workforce Retention and Transformation
Another sphere of healthcare facilities’ responsibility is their proper policies regarding workforce retention. This factor is directly connected to the quality of provided services and professionals’ experience ensuring a positive outcome of interventions and presents a challenge due to the personnel’s burnout and their subsequent leave (Efendi, Kurniati, Bushy, & Gunawan, 2019). Nevertheless, its assessment is more complicated than in the case of patient safety since it includes more independent variables such as motivation, intention, individual decision, or attachment to work (Efendi et al., 2019). Therefore, the concerns of medical organizations are connected to greater difficulty in defining this parameter.
However, the transformation of the systems related to the workforce can be done with the help of risk assessment tools measuring the specified indicators. When applied to the principal factors correlating with the desire of healthcare workers to leave their jobs, these instruments would allow revealing the moment when interventions are required (Efendi et al., 2019). Consequently, the managers of facilities will be able to develop strategic plans on the grounds of the evaluation results and minimize the risks identified in the course of their work.
Improvement Strategies and the System-Based Approach
The efficiency of the activity of workgroups involved in the assessment and the design of improvement plans can be increased through specific strategies targeting particular aspects. Thus, for example, following the system-based approach, healthcare organizations can implement specific steps allowing them to facilitate the cooperation of employees (Clark & Sine, 2019). They should include the creation of committees and these entities’ collaboration with clinician leaders (Clark & Sine, 2019). This approach will help develop effective workgroups through the establishment of connections between the employees at different levels.
Conclusion
To summarize, proper risk management in healthcare implies the implementation of evidence-based methods by medical institutions. They facilitate the assessment procedure and provide precise results in the context of particular organizations. Subsequently, this activity’s outcomes can be applied to such areas as safety or workforce retention which require the transformation concerning patient identification and the evaluated factors, respectively. They should be complemented by the system-based approach presenting specific steps to achieve the objectives in relation to the identified inefficiencies by developing workgroups.
References
Clark, T., & Sine, D. (2019). Safer health care environments by design. Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, 39(1), 28-35.
Efendi, F., Kurniati, A., Bushy, A., & Gunawan, J. (2019). Concept analysis of nurse retention. Nursing & Health Sciences, 21(4), 422-427.
Tres, D. P., Oliveira, J. L. C., Vituri, D. W., Alves, S. R., Rigo, D. D. F. H., & Nicola, A. L. (2016). Quality of care and patient safety: Assessment based on indicators. Cogitare Enferm, 21(5), 1-7.