Analyse the nature of risks in healthcare and critically discuss the Essay

Analyse the nature of risks in healthcare and critically discuss the role of managers in minimizing and managing risks - Essay Example These risks can be mitigated in a number of different ways. Every health organization needs a system of risk management – they need to be able to identify the risks, quantify the risks, prioritise the risks, then mitigate and manage these risks. Management needs to be able to delegate risk management to experts, because management tends to try to do too much. They need analysts who can help them with this, and these analysts need to be within the management flow. At the individual level, management needs to be able to coach, mentor and motivate; at the group level, the management needs to be able to build teams and resolve conflicts; and at the organizational level, the management must be able to build culture. Building culture is important, because if an organization has a culture of risk management, then this organization will be ahead of the curve on risk management – this means that risk management permeates every aspect of the organization. Because organizations th emselves can have risks, as opposed to personal risks, and this is where the very organization encourages risky processes either inadvertently or on purpose. The role of the manager might be to encourage the culture of the organization to adopt risk management, provide support for risk management practices which identify weaknesses and resolve them, or to mentor the individuals to lessen the individual risks regarding risk management. This paper will explore these aspects of risk management. What Is Risk Management? The first part of the risk management process, according to Carter et al. (1994) is the identification of the risks. The identification process of risks may be approached by a combination of methods, including intuitive management; using department experts; using standard questionnaires and checklists; using expert computer-based systems; using structured interviews; through brainstorming sessions; or using outside specialists/consultants. The second process is risk quan tification, and this means that the impact and probability of a each risk is estimated for each risk. After that, the estimate is quantified by using a spreadsheet which estimates timescales and costs. The next process is risk prioritising and filtering,which means that the important risks are recognized and controlled, and risks are prioritized according to whether they care a Category 1 risk (cost effect only); Category 2 risk (contingency plans and costs affected); or Category 3 risk (programme contingency and cost affected). The Category three risks are the higher priority, and the risks are prioritized from there. The fourth part of risk management is the processing and presentation of risk data, and this means the risk data is put through the spreadsheet with different variables. After the risks are identified, quantified, prioritized, and presented, the next four steps identified by Carter et al. (1994) are focused upon mitigating and managing these risks. Mitigating strategi es include avoiding the risk altogether by removing the cause of the risk; transferring the risk, which means that the risk is passed to somebody capable of handling that particular risk; reduction of the risk, which would consist of investing in insurance or some other up-front investment; management of the risk, which means that the risk is managed continuously until it is managed out; and contingency, in which funds are produced for the risks which are