Just Culture Risk Management Paper

To enhance the system of health care, a just culture needs implemented. A just culture encourages an environment that pinpoints problems for improvement, rather than just seeking blame. Furthermore, an overview of the risk management process and its five components will illuminate the importance of identifying, analyzing, prioritizing, and monitoring risks. The risk management process combined with a just culture will promote best practices for an improved health care system with reduced or eliminated errors.

Just Culture Risk managers that support a just culture, realize that people make mistakes and punishments seldom resolve problems. While most health care workers do strive to achieve their best, even the best doctors inadvertently make

Potential risks can come in all shapes and sizes and if left undetected, risks can develop into hazardous consequences. “Risk identification is the process whereby the risk management professional becomes aware of risks in the health care environment that constitute potential loss exposures for the institution” (Carroll, 2009, 15). Risk managers seek to gather information to warn about potential risks through an array of sources, such as generic occurrence screenings (patient records, incident reports, etc.), patient surveys, incident reports and claims, state licensure surveys, the organization’s infection control and performance improvement units, The Joint Commission and other similar group surveys (the National Committee of Quality Assurance Surveys, liability insurers, risk management consultants), contracts, and last but not least informal discussions with managers and staff. Spotting risks before they happen is key (Carroll, 2009,

The risk manager must forecast and calculate the appropriate combination of risk control and risk financing. Considerations must explore issues such as the amounts of patient care liability risks through insurance deductibles or self-insured retention, limits to how much risk there can be for certain services, in-service education, appropriate staffing, credentialing, and purchases of insurance.

Step Four: Implementing the Selected Techniques

Implementing the selected techniques is a combined effort between risk management and other organizational management. Risk management sets the limits to policies, and selects insurers and deductibles. After receiving direction from risk management, the other managers apply the new techniques to their individual departments and staff.

Step Five: Monitoring and Improving

The final step of the risk management process is to monitor and improve the program. However, risk managers are not alone on this task as upper management, the health care staff, the governing board, insurers, legal advisors, and claims managers, all become involved, which helps to ensure that the program stays running optimally. Monitoring and improving a risk program is an ongoing process as potential risks continually change and there is always a need for maintaining and improving safety activities and