In this critical thinking assignment, research a healthcare organization within Saudi Arabia in which you are currently employed or choose one with which you are familiar.Respond to the following ques

Risk Management

Risk Assessment and Management is an approach to improve quality in healthcare that places special emphasis on identifying circumstances, such as direct and indirect patient care processes, buildings, equipment, occupants, and internal physical systems, which put patients, staff, and other people coming to KAMC at  risk of harm, and then acting to prevent or control those risks. The aim is to both improve quality of care for patients and to reduce the costs of such risks for healthcare providers.

All human activities carry a measure of risk and their success or failure depends on their  management. Risk Assessment and Management ensures the following:

• Reduce patient harm and discontent.

• Prevent poor use of staff, time and money.

• Making staff aware that there is a spectrum of outcome.

• Improves morale by making organization more safety conscious.

• Ranking of risks.

• Protection from legal responsibility and litigation.

• Protection from bad publicity.

• More precise and justifiable decision making, and most importantly for Patient Safety 

The Plan for Risk Assessment and Management provides a systematic, coordinated and continuous approach to the maintenance and improvement of patient safety  through the establishment of mechanisms that support effective responses to:

• Near misses.

• Actual occurrences.

• Medical and healthcare errors.

• Adverse events.

• Integration of patient safety priorities into the new design and redesign  of all relevant organization systems, processes, and functions.

Patient care is a coordinated and collaborative effort, and the methodology to optimal patient safety involves multiple departments and disciplines in establishing the plans, processes and mechanisms that encompass the patient safety activities at KAMC-CR. The Plan for Risk Assessment and Management was developed by the Risk Management Unit and Director Quality Management, and it outlines the elements of the organizational Patient Safety Program.

The Risk Management unit plays a fundamental role in investigation of Sentinel  events and conduction of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) as members of the Sentinel    Event Review Committees (SERC)

Sentinel event is described as “an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof. Serious injury  specifically includes loss of limb or function. The phrase “or the risk thereof” includes any process variation for which a recurrence would carry a significant chance of a  serious  adverse outcome.”

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a process for identifying the basic or causal factors  of an adverse event. A root cause analysis focuses primarily on systems and processes, not on individual performance

    • Prevention, not blame or punishment (cornerstone:  no one comes to work to make a  mistake or hurt someone)

    • System level vulnerabilities rather than individual performance such as:

• • Communication 

  • Environment

  • Equipment

  • Education & Training

  • Regulations/Rules/Policies & Procedures

  •  Barriers 

A multidisciplinary committee comprising of physicians, nurses, Quality Management staff and others, on need basis.

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When a patient incident takes place, studies show that dealing with the situation quickly can dramatically improve the patient’s outcome and safety

The Electronic Safety Reporting System (SRS) is the first web-based incident and adverse event management system at NGHA that makes it easy to submit, refine, analyze and communicate critical incident information about patients, staff, family members and visitors and/or the loss of or damage to property.

The Safety Reporting system (SRS) is going to help us to assess process/system failures and identify ways in which we can reduce adverse incidents from recurring.  SRS is a non-punitive system and is not a method of blaming any particular individual/service. Any NGHA-staff can use it to report an incident

Risk Management (RMU)

The risk management unit is responsible to identify the risks in all KIMARC processes and facilities. It also oversight the implementation of control plans to avoid, transfer or minimize the risks impact on the research center and that will enhance the research center efficiency.

Functions of Risk Management Unit

• Implement Risk Management System in KAIMRC

• Developing and implementing risk management plan

• Conduct Risk assessments

• Plan and implement corrective action to eliminate risks in KAIMRC