Nowadays, risk management systems are a well-established part of an up-to-date quality management in hospitals. Risk management, when applied in a specifically targeted and systematic manner, provides greater safety for the patient, an improved quality of treatment and, last but not least, more cost effective care.
What we mean by “risk” is the probability of an incident occurring in a hopsital with possible consequences such as complications, injury, death or financial loss. It is the aim risk management to identify risks in good time and to minimize mistakes and their causes in order to be able to guarantee the safety of patients and the quality of care. Analyzing the standard of organization and structures of the hospital represents an essential aspect of risk management.
Critical Incident Reporting System
A critical incident reporting system (CIRS) was introduced at the MediClin Heart Center Lahr/Baden in 2007. CIRS is a reporting system for notifying critical incidents and near-accidents within the health care system.
With the help of this risk management system, we draw up a monthly Clinical Risk Management Report which can be inspected at all levels within the hospital, lists the risks identified and announces and describes changes to the organization.
Through the consistent implementation of the risk management within the MediClin Heart Center Lahr/Baden, complementing the medical quality management, substantial benefits for the hospital, the members of staff of the medical and nursing sector and, obviously, for our patients themselves can be achieved.
Literature for additional information: Jürgen Ennker, Detlef Pietrowski, Peter Kleine: Risikomanagement in der operativen Medizin,
Steinkopff Verlag Darmstadt, 2007.