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.     

Exposing the true risks of capitation financed healthcare

Many healthcare finance mechanisms involve transferring uncertain costs to healthcare providers in lieu of fixed payments or global capitation. Global capitation violates basic principles of risk management through insurance. Risk‐theoretic analysis of capitation shows that risk disaggregation forces efficient providers to become inefficient insurers. Risk‐assuming providers face lower profitability and increased exposure to operating losses, and must reduce patient benefits. Global capitation causes inefficiency, increases healthcare costs, and threatens patient‐provider relationships.     

Grant award program partnerships with your professional liability insurance carrier: An innovative approach to loss prevention and improved patient safety

The financial success of a malpractice insurance program is directly influenced by how effectively the covered providers respond to risk. This article describes a University Self‐Insurance Program partnership to provide small grants to providers who have the expertise and passion for a specific risk reduction activity that is cost effective and measurable and has a high probability of improving patient care and reducing claims or lawsuits. Implementation of this small grant concept can be tailored to become operational in virtually any setting from an independent medical practice to a multistate healthcare system.     

Professional collaboration to achieve FASHRM and DFASHRM recognition

Members of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) are undeniably talented. They also share a spirit of volunteerism. Two ASHRM committees are fostering further member collaboration to provide individual growth, enhance educational offerings for members, and strengthen the organization's journal. Though 26% of ASHRM members have attained the CPHRM credential, only 2.5% of ASHRM members have attained a fellow designation. Primary barriers to attaining a fellow designation are the requirements for continuing education and contributions to the risk management field. The organization's Journal Editorial Review Board, in concert with its Annual Conference & Exhibition Committee, encourages members to explore opportunities to write for the Journal, speak at the annual conference, and attain one of the organization's professional designations. In addition, the Barton Certificate Program in Healthcare Risk Management promotes professional development with sessions taught on this topic for new and experienced risk managers.     

Minimizing the legal risk with ‘curbside’ consultation

“Curbside consultations” — in which a physician obtains insights on a medical case from another physician who has not seen the patient or reviewed the record — can yield advantages to the requesting physician. However, shortcomings are inherent in this common type of exchange and pose legal risk to the curbside consultant. This article provides background and practical tips that might help avoid being caught up in a lawsuit by surprise, or if named as a party, avoid being held culpable when the only involvement was a brief conversation with a colleague.     

The challenge of change

This article provides the Risk Manager with a framework for dealing with today's challenging times and how much uncertainty an organization is willing to accept. The frame work is ERM: Enterprise Risk Management. An argument is made that by applying an established ERM decision‐making framework, Risk Managers can integrate governance, risk management, compliance, quality performance, and technology which allows organizations to explore, evaluate, predict, mitigate, and even prevent adverse events from occurring in the first place.     

Back to basics—just how much should a risk manager know about risk financing?

Whether directly involved in development and implementation of the organization's risk financing program or not, risk management professionals, at the very least, need to be familiar with and understand the various risk financing strategies available to address all areas of exposure. This article addresses the types of coverages and risk financing options that should be considered when developing a comprehensive risk‐financing program, and why it is important for risk management professionals to have some knowledge about these products, in order for their true value to be fully appreciated.