Clinical risk management aims to improve patient safety by identifying circumstances that put patients at risk of harm and preventing those risks. It involves a four-step process: identifying risks, assessing their frequency and severity, reducing or eliminating risks, and costing risks. Managing clinical risk requires gathering information about risks, meeting fitness to practice requirements, and accurately reporting risks, keeping medical records, self-assessing skills and knowledge, participating in risk management meetings, and appropriately responding to patients, families, and complaints. Sentinel events are unexpected occurrences involving death or injury, and complaints can help maintain standards and protect the public.

1. Topic 6
Understanding and
managing clinical risk

2. 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

3. 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

4. Learning objective
Know how to apply risk management
principles by identifying, assessing and
reporting hazards and potential risks in the
workplace

5. Knowledge requirements
o the activities used for gathering information
about risk
o fitness to practise requirements
o personal accountability for managing clinical
risk

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Fitness to practise
requirements
o credentialling
o accreditation
o registration

11. 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

12. 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