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Introduction
Risk management programs play a vital role in ensuring the safety of workers, patients, and any other stakeholders in a healthcare setting. Therefore, such programs should be implemented meticulously based on the provided guidelines to ensure that maximum benefits are derived in the long run. This assertion calls for a thorough knowledge of the different aspects of such programs including the role of MIPPA-approved accreditation bodies and the functions played by the different levels of administrative personnel in healthcare ethics. This paper discusses the various aspects of the risk management program discussed in part one of this project.
Role of MIPPA-Approved Accreditation Body
The Joint Commission (JC) is the MIPPA-approved accreditation body used in the selected organization – a large community healthcare institution. The role of the JC is covered in its mission statement, which is “To continuously improve the safety of and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations” (O’Leary, n.d., p. 3). In line with this mission, the JC has developed standards that allow health care organizations to conduct an objective evaluation process to appraise, evaluate, and better performance. According to the Joint Commission (2020), “The standards focus on important patient, individual, or resident care and organization functions that are essential to providing safe, high-quality care” (para. 1). In the community health care institution, the JC plays the role of a convener, collaborator, and listener. Therefore, the JC’s role is collaborative as it works hand-in-hand with the organization in accreditation and certification, ensuring patient safety, measuring performance, disseminating information, and engaging in public policy initiatives. In addition, the JC evaluates the organization against the set standards and takes part in accreditation decision-making.
Roles of Different Levels of Administrative Personnel
In any organization, the human resources management (HRM) department is tasked with the work of allocating duties to various employees to establish and sustain employer/employee-focused organizational risk management strategies and operational policies. On their part, employers ensure that all staffing needs are adequately met so that there could be enough workers to execute organizational risk management strategies. This goal is achieved by availing the required resources for the HRM department to recruit a sufficient number of qualified employees. On the other hand, the HRM department is divided into various levels from top-most managers to junior officers to ensure that tasks are executed effectively. HR managers make overall decisions on hiring and training programs to equip companies with the needed expertise in risk management. At departmental levels, the risk management department is headed by a specialist in this field to guide the organization in the establishment, implementation, and sustenance of risk management programs. These managers work with other teams to ensure that everyone in the organization is aware of how various aspects of the risk management program should be implemented in their areas of work.
Organization’s Risk Management and Compliance Programs
In the selected organization, the current risk management and compliance programs are designed in line with the ethical code of conduct governing the health care sector. First, patient safety and privacy are some of the leading concerns that health care providers have to address in the process of implementing the risk management program. According to Ballard (2017), all privacy-related issues arising within the program should be monitored and recorded, as their violation could lead to punitive fines and expensive lawsuits. Therefore, the program has reliable mechanisms to ensure that patients’ privacy is protected. Similarly, the issues of patient consent and autonomy are protected within this program. Truog et al. (2015) argue that patients’ rights should be respected at all times irrespective of the given circumstances. Within Ballard’s (2017) risk management program, all decisions made and the taken actions should be within the stipulated code of conduct that governs the health care sector. Patients’ rights, autonomy, responsibilities, and other related attributes should take the central place in any risk management program.
Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Health Care Professionals
Risk management policies should be upheld at all times because any lapse could lead to adverse care outcomes by affecting patient safety. Therefore, health care professionals are expected to be careful when handling patients. However, various legal and ethical challenges arise in the course of executing their duties. For instance, in the organization in question, the issue of understaffing is a major problem, as in many other health care facilities. Understaffing in the health care sector occurs due to various reasons, including the lack of adequate resources and a qualified workforce.
According to the “non-maleficence principle of medical ethics, ensuring patients’ safety and preventing any injury or damage to them is a major priority for healthcare providers” (Kadivar et al., 2017, p. 2). However, due to limited resources, care providers have to make tough choices in terms of the quality of care that could be availed to patients. As such, at times, the quality of care may be compromised. Legally, care providers should ensure informed consent, but this can be difficult in cases when patients and their families have differing opinions from those of care providers. Sometimes, accidental exposure of patients’ data could occur, which is a major legal and ethical challenge.
Quality Improvement Processes and Overall Journey to Excellence
The overall success of any organization in the health care industry depends largely on the quality of services offered to patients. Accreditation, which is part of quality improvement, ensures that patients get high-quality services and are assured of their safety. In the organization in question, accreditation has ensured that only qualified medical staff members are recruited. As such, it becomes easy to follow the set guidelines when interacting with patients by upholding professionalism. Additionally, employees operating in the facility are likely to be satisfied with their work because the organization has put in place mechanisms for continuous learning, effective leadership, and a good working environment as part of the risk management process. Therefore, in the end, the quality improvement processes support and contribute significantly to the overall journey to excellence.
Conclusion
Risk management programs in the health care sector are part of quality improvement processes as they allow organizations to minimize safety and quality issues that could be exposed to both employees and patients in the workplace. The selected organization uses the JC as the MIPPA-approved accreditation body. Within the organization, various administrative personnel operating at different levels work together to ensure that the risk management program is implemented successfully. The program is designed to ensure that the ethical code of conduct is observed at all times when dealing with patients. However, the issue of understaffing poses serious legal and ethical challenges as care professionals in the organization try to implement the risk management program. Nevertheless, this program contributes significantly to the overall success and excellence of the organization.
References
Ballard, D.C. (2017). Risk management. In D.C. Ballard & P. D. Grant (Eds.), Law for nurse leaders (2nd ed.), (pp. 141-164). Springer Publishing Company.
Kadivar, M., Manookian, A., Asghari, F., Niknafs, N., Okazi, A., & Zarvani, A. (2017). Ethical and legal aspects of patient’s safety: A clinical case report. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 10(15), 1-5.
O’Leary, D. S. (N.d.). The role of the Joint Commission in health care quality. Web.
The Joint Commission. (2020). About our standards. Web.
Truog, R. D., Brown, S. D., Browning, D., Hundert, E. M., Rider, E. A., Bell, S. K., & Meyer, E. C. (2015). Microethics: The ethics of everyday clinical practice. Hastings Center Report, 45(1), 11-17.
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