Create a Quality Healthcare System through Enterprise Risk Management Solution

Creating a quality healthcare environment is one of the prime objectives of any national administration, across the globe.

Risks are inevitable and no industry knows it better than the healthcare sector. It deals with clinical risks day in, and day out. Healthcare institutions need innovative risk solutions for a fast-changing commercial landscape.

Speed, Precision and Security are the key demands of organizations in new-age healthcare. ERM solutions implemented should fulfil specific requisites. At the same time, it should be integrated with organizations’ Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework to create an effortless workflow.

Flaws in traditional methods limit the potential of healthcare centres

Traditional methods are no more an efficient solution. The major problem they face is in dealing with data management. Healthcare centres have one of the largest collections of records. The lack of organization and structure in data hinders the efficiency level of healthcare operations extensively. Moreover, errors like unintended omission of information and difficulty in retracing data can lead to grave consequences in an environment meant for medicine and healthcare.

A transitional phase of the healthcare sector

Healthcare organizations, like all other industries, are evolving for the better in terms of business functions. More and more healthcare service providers are adopting the values of a patient-centric atmosphere. These centres need to be equipped with a completely integrated ERM platform to put these values into action. A healthcare institution could double its potential with a technology that helps it to plan, strategize and mitigate risks.

At the prenatal stage of development, healthcare centres address many concerns, which can be identified as the predominant risks prevailing in the industry:

• Ensuring patient safety and satisfaction
• Implementing and managing electronic medical and health records
• Lack of operational efficiency
• Fraudulent claims
• Cost management
• Managing reimbursement payment liabilities
• Compliance with healthcare reforms and policies

Healthcare systems need the supportive technology of ERM solutions that cover the following areas:

A comprehensive platform that can easily retrieve integrated data corresponding to standards, policies, procedures, records and programs

• Maintaining an enterprise-wide risk register
• Gain flexibility and provide access to each department with information pertaining to their own risk registers
• The integrated system lets you prioritize patient safety portfolios rather easily
• Support patient safety through accurate detection, documentation, implementation and distribution of information
• Eliminate patient-identification errors, maintain confidentiality of medical reports and keep them updated
• Easy communication and sharing of authorized, relevant and immediate information
• Chart out optimal patient care, treatment planning and safety
• Recognize skilled doctors, nurses, specialists and professionals
• Avoid unexpected costs and medical negligence
• Enable cost reductions and manage challenges with patient payments
• Maintain the institution’s employee management
• Improve management visibility
• Manage stock levels and reduce excess or expired stock

Apart from such industry-specific attributes, ERM solutions incorporate various other organizational requirements, which help them mitigate operational costs, manage human resources, oversee inventory operations, monitor supply chain activities, assist front office management and handle financial and billing processes. Basically, an ERM application brings together all the facets of a healthcare institution under one platform.

[box type=”note”]About The Author: Mohammed Nasser Barakat is Consultancy Director at CAREweb Corporate Governance Consultancy offering Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) software used by the well known global business organizations. Nasser is Certified Control and Risk Self Assessment Practitioner (CCSA) and has 8 years experience in  Internal audit solutions, Healthcare Enterprise Risk Management solutions and consultancy.[/box]