Healthcare 

Patient Safety, Culture Change and Risk Management
A survey of 200 Healthcare CEOs on Technology, Management and Operational Challenges.

Contact Arcus for:

• A presentation of findings from the study to your organization.
• A workshop on culture change and patient safety
• A change management consulting engagement

The healthcare industry's emphasis on improving patient safety has increased in recent years. From the steady rise of hospital-acquired infections to infants receiving blood thinner, a variety of trends and events have thrust the issue into the public spotlight.       Arcus Patient Safety   Trends Report

Extract from the Study:

Risk Strategy, Governance and Education are key influencers of Patient Safety

Risk strategy and governance are key drivers of the adoption of risk management improvement practices because, invariably, top management defines investments across initiatives. However, due to a substantial gap in awareness and understanding of risk management and its value to organizations at board and top management levels, risk management processes and systems are routinely under funded, in the opinion of Risk Managers.   

 

Culture is the biggest challenge

Employee attitude is the number one risk issue fueled by mistrust and apathy, often originating from inadequate or poorly managed processes which aggravate high risk situations and increase errors. There is a growing recognition of the importance of the role of culture in patient safety- 18% have conducted a culture survey within the past two years, while 82% of organizations have not (CCHSA study, 2005). Inertia to change within an organizational culture has resulted in resistance to new improved practices. Moreover, current practices with regard to patient safety tend to be reactive rather than proactive, based on a process of  reflective learning through what is learned from series of incidents and medical errors

 

Low awareness of benefits of risk management

It is apparent that low awareness of the value of risk management is the most important barrier to strengthening resources and funding of the risk management function within organizations. Most non-subscribers are unhappy with their current provider of risk management services. This is primarily because of limited impact measurement of investments. Education of the executive and board are of significant importance to Risk Managers. They need an ally to drive knowledge of the value of risk management within organizations, especially at the executive level.

 

Knowledge and value gap

While changing culture is important to CEO’s, many are struggling with initiatives to deliver substantial impact on patient safety. The leadership structure for risk management is far from consistent across organizations resulting in inconsistent decisions. Another problem facing organizations is the limited role of medical professionals in management decisions.