Risk management and quality management are closely related in healthcare and are used together to improve patient outcomes and ensure the delivery of safe and high-quality care.
Risk management is focused on identifying and managing potential risks that can impact patient safety or the delivery of healthcare services. Quality management, on the other hand, is focused on ensuring that the care provided meets established quality standards and achieves desired outcomes.
By using risk management and quality management together, healthcare organizations can identify potential risks that could impact the quality of care, and take steps to mitigate those risks. For example, a healthcare organization might identify the risk of medication errors and implement quality management strategies such as staff education and training, medication reconciliation processes, and technology solutions such as barcoding systems to improve medication safety.
Another example is the use of quality improvement initiatives to address risks related to patient falls. A healthcare organization might use risk management strategies such as identifying high-risk patients and implementing fall prevention protocols, while also using quality management strategies such as monitoring and analyzing fall rates, and implementing continuous improvement initiatives to reduce the incidence of falls.