Healthcare Risk Management Training

Risk management is the discipline concerned with creating and maintaining an environment that protects clients from harm caused by an organization while protecting the organization from its clients. While this concept at first seems counterintuitive, it takes on a deep relevance in health care settings, where an organization's mistakes can literally cost patients their lives, and patients can cost institutions millions of dollars in damages for legal liabilities.

Significance

• Risk management is especially important in modern health care organizations, which can be the target of costly litigation for malpractice and other liabilities on a regular basis. In the midst of an increasingly litigious culture in which health care facilities are at a heightened level of risk, it is vital to remain up to date on advances in risk management practices, law and technology.

Types

• Risk management training is offered in a variety of forms from different types of institutions. Colleges and universities, such as the University of Florida, offer specialized degree programs in health care risk management that include education on a range of technical, managerial and administrative concepts.

  Professional certifications and their associated study programs can offer a competitive advantage to job seekers and entrepreneurs. Not only can studying for certification exams provide an excellent learning experience, but the certification received at the end of the study program serves as proof of the designee's experience and professional competence. One such certification program is the Barton Certificate in Healthcare Risk Management offered by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM).

  Continuing education programs for professionals exist in addition to programs designed for new students. Continuing education credits are often offered by the same institutions that grant formal degrees but can also be obtained in unique ways. The "Healthcare Risk Management" publication from AHC Media, for example, is a trade publication covering new breakthroughs in the field, which includes a summary quiz at the end of each edition that can be completed and returned for official continuing education credit.

Features

• Employees serving in a risk management capacity must be well versed in the legal, administrative, technical and technological aspects of the field in addition to human resource issues such as staff training. Because of this, training curriculums tend to be quite thorough, offering courses on such diverse topics as organizational governance, claims administration, emergency management and clinical research, in addition to industry-specific topics such as home health care issues, radiology and risk finance.

Options

• Health care risk management training is offered in a variety of forms to meet the needs of the diverse student base. Courses can be offered in physical institutional settings, in online settings for individuals or groups, through paper-based study materials or during professional events such as seminars and conferences.

Benefits

• Superior risk management practices can serve to increase your organization's reputation in the marketplace in addition to preventing legal trouble. Modern patients often make highly informed decisions about the health care services they choose, and safety is often a large concern.