Healthcare Risk Management Leader
Risk management is at the top of every healthcare organization, big or small. Whether you are a private practice, single hospital, or a large healthcare organization, you must be prepared for all the different types of situations that can increase risk including service interference, epidemics, changes in legislation, and even changes in financial structure. A strong risk management healthcare leader can ascertain that you are ready to not just react when risks become a reality but to strategize to reduce said risk.
Types of Risk Healthcare Organizations Face
Because of their nature, healthcare organizations deal with many types of risk. There are some that can have a much higher impact than others. There are four main types of risk: reputational, financial, legal, and regulatory compliance risk. Below are a few examples of situations that can put a healthcare organization at risk:
Healthcare organizations are constantly faced with different types of collaboration in all areas of the healthcare continuum including not-for-profit and investor-headed collaborations. These bring outside risks associated with compliance, legal, ethical and contractual issues.
As the focus shifts more and more from a volume-based model to a quality of care model, healthcare organizations must enact evidence-based practices to ensure the steadfastness of clinical processes throughout the organization.
Revenue cycle problems can result in increased risk throughout hospitals and healthcare organizations. Issues such as improper documentation or coding, balance sheets are affected and adjustments must be made throughout all sectors of the organization, changes which can increase risk and reduce patient safety and satisfaction.
An important factor in risk management is making sure that your organization remains HIPPA compliant. Violations can happen in almost any department, and reviews of this and similar legislation must be conducted on a regular basis to reduce said risk.
Technology is growing stronger every day. As healthcare organizations update systems and convert to modern technologies such as electronic health records, new financial systems and other types of technology, they may expose themselves to new risks in both clinical care areas and reimbursement.
How Risk Management Leaders Can Help
Healthcare organizations face risk on a daily basis, but those who have placed strong risk management leaders will be better able to forecast, identify and properly attend to crises if and when they happen. These leaders will be able to work with healthcare leaders throughout and outside the organization in order to better understand each department’s risks, how they can affect the health of the organization, and strategize on the steps that can be taken to mitigate said risks.
They must also be able to analyze and package the information they gather in a way that communicates it to the board in order to drive focus and resources needed to temper risks and their effects.
Risk management is a complicated issue to deal with. In order to fully get a grasp on this, one must look at insurance concepts, regulatory concerns, and accreditation verification programs. A strong risk management leader will go beyond this to look at all other areas that may increase risk. He or she will consider medical malpractice and general liability. The strongest leaders in this field of healthcare are not reactive but proactive. They need to be able to make predictions on risk in order to ascertain that an adequate set of resources is allocated to address risk.
Once the risks and opportunities have been predicted, resources must be allocated based on said risks. The idea is to evaluate risk and prepare for it by communicating with the board and C-suite leaders for the departments involved so that effective strategies can be put into place.
Your new risk manager must recognize that risk is unpredictable and that while it cannot be forecasted with certainty, that it can be forecasted. They must look at the risks, estimate their costs, the resources that will be needed to deal with said risk, and the various outcomes that may result from the situations.
How to Find the Right Risk Management Leader for Your Healthcare Organization
If you are looking to place the perfect talent for risk management in your hospital or healthcare organization, the Summit Talent Group team is ready to speak with you. Summit Talent Group is a boutique healthcare executive search firm. As such, we work very differently than larger firms. Our model is that of white glove service.
We begin by conducting in-depth interviews with primaries in your organization. Our goal is to get to know your organization as well as you do. By the time the interviews are done, we will have full knowledge of your goals and mission, your strengths and weaknesses, and your culture.
We establish a clearly defined search timeline so that there is full transparency between our team and yours. This timeline will help you to plan ahead and understand when milestones will happen during the search engagement.
Our team will clearly define the specifications of the position including everything from financials, certifications, location, responsibilities, qualifications, goals and objectives.
Once the right candidates have been identified, we vet them to ascertain that they are not only qualified for the position but that they are fully prepared to take on the responsibility. It is only after they are fully assessed that we move onto the interview process.
Our team will coordinate the interview process including pre-interview preparation for your team to make sure that the right questions are asked and nothing is missed. We conduct after interview follow-ups on both ends and assist in creating an offer that will make it incredibly easy for your choice of talent to accept.
If you would like to speak to a member of our leadership team about how we can assist you with your risk management leadership needs, contact us. We look forward to speaking with you.
Business Manager, Summit Talent Group