Risk management in health care - Essay Example

RISK MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE Risk Management in Health Care Incidents characterized by standards of care falling beneath those established by law in order to protect patients from unreasonable danger in medicine are considered medical negligence. Such incidents include injury, ailments or other infections resulting from wrong drugs issued by the nurse or the pharmacist, erroneous diagnosis or treatment, syndromes, behavior, and a patient taking the wrong drugs at home (Parker-Pope, 2011). However, with all the knowledge about the proper standards of care and the need for these standards, United States’ hospitals have experienced a 50% surge in the number of people treated for illnesses arising from medication errors (Parker-Pope, 2011).

There is a variety of aspects to consider in circumstances involving malpractice. One such aspect is that the healthcare provider is responsible for the outcomes related to malpractice. In this regard, injuries resulting from negligence due to malpractices entitle the injured patient to full compensation. It is important to point out that the law considers the actual and future damages resulting from medical errors when determining the amount of compensation. In addition, another damage considered for avoidance by healthcare professionals is the loss of chance doctrine.

Under this doctrine, the physician is liable to the value of the chance of their patient regardless of the level of the chances of survival. Finally, another aspect considered involves situation where two healthcare providers combined and caused inseparable harm. Under such situations, the two providers may provide the wrong treatment and in effect cause harm to their patient. In this case, such providers are jointly liable for all the harm caused.To avoid the risks associated with negligence issues, it is the responsibility of healthcare providers to ensure safety measures in their practice.

Such measures are crucial for preventing medical errors injurious to patients. In this regard, prevention of harm should be through the provision of sufficient members of staff equipped with adequate training to provide high quality care. Such staff should continually engage in studying to ensure that they maintained and acquired enough skills required for providing high quality care to patients. In addition, there should be adequate healthcare resources, in both inpatient and outpatient facilities, available to safeguard the interests of the patients.

In this regard, patients seeking further care should not be denied access to appropriate care based on financial considerations and their capabilities. In addition, healthcare providers should ensure enacting proper policies and procedures aimed at preventing unnecessary harm to patient. Thus, healthcare facilities should formulate and implement policies and procedures advocating for the disclosure to a patient of their health information.In conclusion, it is the foremost responsibility of the healthcare provider to ensure safety measures in healthcare practice.

These measures discussed in this expose, such as employing adequate members of staff well trained to handle patients, may seem common knowledge. However, such measures are fundamentally crucial for ensuring that there were no medical errors and cases of negligence. In addition, sufficient medical facilities and a clear formulated policy will guide a healthcare facility in delivering quality care to their patients. In effect, once physicians practice these measures, they will reduce the risk of unnecessary harm to patient and effectively minimize the risk of lawsuits.

ReferencesParker-Pope, T. (2011, January 12). Medication-Related Injuries on the Rise. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/medication-related- injuries-on-the-rise/#more-50831