Charting Risk

Abstract

In today's complex healthcare landscape, risk management is essential for ensuring patient safety, regulatory compliance, and financial stability in hospitals. The primary objective of hospital risk management is to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate potential threats, aiming to prevent and minimize adverse events, errors, and harm. This chapter provides a comprehensive exploration of risk management practices in hospitals, focusing on various risk categories. The study, centered on the outpatient department (OPD) process, involved consultations with OPD managers, consultants, nurses, quality managers, laboratory and pharmacy departments in charge, and unit in-charges. In-depth interactions and observations, along with an assessment of two years of OPD data, were utilized to identify process bottlenecks. The research spanned five multi-specialty hospitals, each with over 100 beds. Additionally, the chapter develops an OPD risk management framework to guide hospitals in effectively managing risks within the department.