According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare sector is growing much faster than the average for all industries. For example, the demand for healthcare jobs is expected to produce 1.8 million openings each year through 2032. While this is great news for healthcare organizations, it also highlights a delicate challenge: shrinking your risk while growing your company.
Typically, as organizations grow, their risks grow in tune. More patients, doctors, and facilities mean greater risk exposure and an increased chance of something not going according to plan. But with integrated risk management software, healthcare organizations can control, mitigate, and predict risks, taking the driver’s seat and steering their companies towards more profitable futures. Here’s how you can integrate risk management information systems into the healthcare industry.
What Does Integrated Risk Management Software Mean in the Context of Healthcare?
In a healthcare setting, integrated risk management (IRM) software gives you a system that unites and analyzes all of your risk data. You gain full visibility into your risks, how much they cost, and the impact they have on your financial present and future.
For example, a healthcare executive may know that risks associated with cybersecurity, compliance issues, and patient safety can all impact the organization’s profit margins. But with IRM software, you can see exactly how much the impact could be, given different scenarios. As importantly, the software can tell you exactly how much insurance you need to have to insulate yourself against these kinds of events.
You can also keep track of how improvements impact your risk profile, as well as how much you have to invest in mitigation. For instance, you may choose to position a next-generation firewall between a database with sensitive information and a client portal. Then, as your IT team reports a drop in the number of malware threats, you can leverage this data to decrease your cyber insurance premium payments.
The number of applications is unlimited. With a full range of risk data and analysis at your fingertips, you can better care for both patients and profits.
What Can You Do with an Integrated Risk Management Information System in Healthcare?
With IRM software, you can eliminate guessing games around the incidents you may have to deal with, how much they cost, and how to mitigate related expenses. You also safeguard your operations against expensive downtime.
Make Data-based Decisions
As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you don't know.” IRM software ensures you have the data you need to “know” to make sound financial and operational decisions. Also, the cost of controlling risk can get expensive, and IRM software enables you to discover ways to reduce your overall cost of risk.
For example, suppose a risk manager is trying to build a case for purchasing an upgraded backup power system. The price tag is hefty, and other decision-makers are balking. They ask a reasonable question: “What would be our yearly ROI on this investment?”
Instead of deflecting the question or tossing out unsubstantiated estimates, the manager can pull up their IRM software. There, they can see the average cost of power outages over the last few years, how they impacted each department, and the effects they had on insurance premiums.
With this data in hand, the risk manager can provide a far more accurate figure regarding the backup power system’s ROI.
Identify Claim Trends and Predict Future Claims
The key loss drivers are unique for each healthcare facility. On top of that, they change from year to year. It can be tough to know which kinds of claims are going to have the biggest impact on your overall risk, as well as how to structure your insurance coverage accordingly. But with IRM software, you have all the data you need to pinpoint trends and even predict which ones you may have to deal with down the road.
Enable a More Effective Incident Response System
Your IRM software gives you a transparent view of the incidents that tend to result in claims. With this information, you can design an incident response mechanism that, ultimately, reduces the frequency and severity of claims.
For example, let’s say a surgical procedure doesn’t go as planned, and the surgeon is worried about a potential medical malpractice suit. With IRM software, you can provide the surgeon with a place to report this concern before the patient even leaves the hospital.
If there was an attending physician, nurses, an anesthesiologist, and a pharmacist involved, all of these people could be brought to the table for a discussion about what happened and the best ways to address any possible issues.
As a result, instead of merely hoping over the next few months—or years—that you won’t get a call from an attorney, you can be proactive and start finding a solution immediately. Also, whether your strategy involves performing another procedure right away, waiting to see how the patient heals, or something else, you also have data regarding what each decision may cost. This includes both short- and long-term expenses. It could even include reputational effects as calculated via online reviews and ratings.
Ventiv’s integrated risk management software gives healthcare organizations the power to take control of their risks and their costs. Whether your goal is to make better decisions, identify key loss drivers, or improve your incident response system, Ventiv IRM makes it easier and faster to get the insights you need. Chat with an expert to see how Ventiv’s IRM Solution is right for your organization.
