Determining hospital risk management staffing through analytics

This article presents the development of an independent research project to gather time data from hospital risk managers in order to establish an objective, justifiable means of determining staffing levels recommended to support risk management activities and department functions.     

A dream come true: Being President of ASHRM

During our 33rd Annual Conference of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, I had the absolute honor and privilege to thank our 2013 ASHRM board and staff along with the ASHRM membership. On behalf of the membership I extended heartfelt thanks for a job well done to our retiring board members, friends, and colleagues: Faye Shepherd, Ellen Grady‐Venditti, Michael Midgley, and Immediate Past President Mary Anne Hilliard. Together, we welcomed 2014 ASHRM board members and witnessed the oath of office to Hala Helm, David Sine, and Sherrill Peters, along with President‐Elect Ellen Grady‐Venditti and our 2014 President Jacque Mitchell.     

Pearls of wisdom: Practical application of the Pearls series

Scores of ASHRM members have collaborated to produce the Pearls Series, a set of pocket guides on topics of interest for not only risk managers but also administrators, clinicians, and board members. The succinct format facilitates the dissemination of pertinent information to a wide audience. Risk managers should be knowledgeable of the Pearls topics, understand how to develop appropriate metrics, and manage the monitoring and performance improvement aspects that are critical to ensuring successful knowledge transfer.     

Hiding in plain sight: Why are we worried about Ebola and not sepsis?

Sepsis kills more people in the United States than breast cancer, heart attacks, and the next two leading diseases combined. It is the leading cause of readmissions and for treatment costs exceeding twice that of the next most expensive condition. Survivors frequently suffer amputations and postsepsis syndrome, spending years on treatment and medication to recover. One in 150 people will be directly affected by sepsis, compared to the 1 in 33 million chance that a US resident would contact Ebola. We now have federal funding and a structured framework to treat Ebola, yet nothing exists to address sepsis even though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported spending $20 billion in 2011 treating its symptoms for Medicare and Medicaid patients. How do we continue to miss sepsis as a risk management emergency?