Risk management plays a crucial role in healthcare organizations. It not only shields these institutions from potential risks and disruptions to their operations but also ensures that patients receive optimal care. By assessing, implementing, and preventing risk management strategies and practices, healthcare professionals can enhance patient outcomes. If you’re interested in a career in healthcare risk management, read on to discover how you can get started in this field.
What is Risk Management?
Healthcare risk management is a multifaceted discipline that merges medical, legal, and business components into a single administrative responsibility. The position involves assessing, mitigating, and addressing threats to healthcare organizations.
What does a Risk Manager do?
Risk managers work in administrative capacities to assess, mitigate, and address threats to healthcare. These assessment and mitigation strategies involve recommending protections and practices that are designed to help keep patients, staff, and clinicians protected from potential threats. Threats to a healthcare organization can come in a variety of forms, including through financial, legal, business, medical, or human resource disciplines. Risk managers work to ensure compliance in these areas while proactively assessing implementation and practices through a risk management lens.
Common job responsibilities include:
- Establishing a risk management plan for healthcare institutions
- Research and report various risks at the healthcare institution
- Review past incidences, claims, and liability reports to identify future potential risks
- Draft new policies and procedures to mitigate risk
- Develop and implement risk management training and seminars
Where do Risk Managers work?
Healthcare risk managers can be found throughout the healthcare – with many serving in larger healthcare institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and similar adjacent localities. They can also be found working for a series of smaller healthcare practices under the same management, or in some cases for outside firms hired by hospitals or other healthcare institutions to provide risk management services.
Risk Managers can be found working in:
- Hospitals
- Clinics
- Insurance Companies
- Consulting Agencies
- Governmental Agencies
How to start in Risk Management?
While there is no single path to a career in risk management, certain benchmarks and requirements can help enhance career prospects and open doors to new and exciting opportunities. Career opportunities can be forged through education in business, insurance, healthcare, legal, or financial disciplines. Depending on the specifics of the position, certain degrees or experience may provide enhanced knowledge beyond the general scope of practice. Degrees such as healthcare administration provide a comprehensive overview of healthcare systems, functions, and operations.
Risk Management Career Outlook
The road to becoming a risk manager starts with a degree in healthcare administration. The University of Providence offers multiple healthcare administration pathways designed to meet the needs of students across all different educational and career points. Whether you’re a recent high school graduate considering risk management for the first time, or a current professional considering career change or advancement, our healthcare administration programs provide students with quality, mission-focused, patient-centered care. Explore the University of Providence Healthcare Administration Programs.
