Risk and Quality Management in Healthcare

Risk and Quality Management in Healthcare

Risk management is processes and systems employed to identify, evaluate and take precautionary steps to reduce or curb the risk, while Quality management involves overseeing tasks and activities that must be accomplished to maintain a desired and consistent level of excellence.

Role

            Both are important in ensuring organizational longevity and financial stability.  Risk management ensures the preservation of the organization’s assets for a successful continuation of its operations. It provides a basis upon which decisions can be made, identifies potential hazards that may compromise patient care and increase liability. Quality management assures the healthcare organization meets accreditation and regulatory requirements, improves processes that may lead to suboptimal services or errors, and ensures outcome-driven systems guided by patients’ needs.

Differences

Risk management reduces the chance for organizational loss, quality management improves outcomes of patient care. Risk management focuses on reducing legal liability, quality management programs respond to clinical quality issues to reduce clinical error (Schoenly, 2015).

Similarities

            Both use cause and effect analysis to determine the course of action. Both undertake corrective action plans, feedback to providers and staff, provider credentialing, staff education and training, proactive risk assessment, and root-cause analysis.

            The importance of knowing the differences and similarities is to acknowledge the role played bt both concepts in complimenting each other and how they can be integrated.

Both concepts equip students with critical and creative thinking in identifying risks and making quality decisions. It ensures continuous improvement since knowledge is offered early enough.

            Understanding risk and quality management is the main catalyst for improved healthcare systems, both concepts have different roles but the same goal.

References

Schoenly, L. (2015). Patient Safety: Better than Risk Management or Quality Improvement. Correctionalnurse.net. Retrieved 2 December 2021, from https://correctionalnurse.net/patient-safety-better-risk-management-quality-improvement/.