Topic 6

Understanding and
managing clinical risk
 Why clinical risk is relevant
to patient safety
o clinical risk management specifically is
concerned with improving the quality and
safety of health-care services by identifying
the circumstances and opportunities that put
patients at risk of harm and acting to prevent
or control those risks
4-step process to manage
clinical risks
o identify the risk
o assess the frequency and severity of
the risk
o reduce or eliminate the risk
o cost the risk
 Learning objective

Know how to apply risk management

principles by identifying, assessing and
reporting hazards and potential risks in the
workplace
 Knowledge requirements
o the activities used for gathering information
about risk
o fitness to practise requirements
o personal accountability for managing clinical
risk
 Performance requirements
o know how to report known risks or hazards in the
workplace
o keep accurate and complete medical records
o self-assess to reduce the risk of errors caused by
inadequate knowledge and skills
o participate in meetings that discuss risk management
and patient safety
o respond appropriately to patients and families after
an adverse event
o respond appropriately to complaints
Clinical risk
management activities
o incident monitoring
o sentinel events
o the role of complaints in improving care
o complaints and concerns where the individual
is responsible
o coronial Investigations
 Sentinel events

o unexpected occurrence involving death or

serious physical or psychological injury and
includes any process variation for which a
recurrence would carry a significant chance of
serious adverse outcome

JCAHO, 1999
 Complaints

o assist in maintaining standards

o reduce the frequency of litigation
o help maintain trust in the profession
o encourage self-assessment
o protect the public
Fitness to practise
requirements

ocredentialling
o accreditation

o registration
Professional development
and self-assessment
o role of fatigue and fitness to practise
o stress and mental health problems
o work environment and organization
o supervision
o communication
 Performance requirements
o know how to report known risks or hazards in the
workplace
o keep accurate and complete medical records
o self-assess to reduce the risk of errors caused by
inadequate knowledge and skills
o participate in meetings that discuss risk management
and patient safety
o respond appropriately to patients and families after
an adverse event
o respond appropriately to complaints