Healthcare Risk Management, A High Growth Industry

These days, when most of us hear the phrase "risk management," we think of financial risk management and get a bad taste in out collective mouth. The utter failure of financial risk managers to stick to the basics has created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. No wonder when we hear about 'healthcare risk management' we no longer immediately think of the patient-facing care and education component of healthcare. When you hear 'healthcare risk management' do you think of your doctor's advice on diet, nutrition, vitamins, medicine, how to take this, why not to do that? Those are all risk management strategies, by the way. Your doctor is empowering you to manage your health risks. But, no, that's not what someone is talking about when they tell you they are certified in healthcare risk management.

What is referenced by the phrase "healthcare risk management" is the requirement in the litigious, non-socialist United States healthcare environment to identify and minimize the exposure of healthcare institutions and professionals to liability. To this end, certification programs have been developed at the state level and certification is now expected for promotion into the upper levels of healthcare management.

The skill set for healthcare risk management changes from state to state and nation to nation. In general, certification is offered to registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, pharmacists physicians, medical technicians, emergency medical technicians and chiropractors.

Certification courses in Healthcare Risk Management are usually two semesters long and are done either as part of a post-secondary diploma or degree program or as a continuing education program. The program begins with an introduction to risk management as a subject within the overall school of business administration. Such courses tend to over-stress classical risk management models in insurance and finance.

After the student is trained to view risk management as an unavoidable element in the business of healthcare, other subjects covered are medical malpractice and negligence, the management of insurance claims and supply chain liability exposure.