Risk Management Information System Architecture for a Hospital Center: The Case of CHTMAD

2. Background

In order to improve public trust and promote a culture of safety and quality, governments and public agencies have established accreditation programs seeking to evaluate healthcare organizations such as ambulatory care, clinical laboratories, primary care centers, and continuous care institutions (Miller et al., 2012; Sokol & Neerukonda, 2013). An accreditation program is a management tool to rate the engagement and commitment of hospitals to the continuous reduction of patients’ risks and quality improvement.

Apparently, the two concepts of risks and quality are very closely related. Hospitals staff must be aware of accreditation standards, its goals and measurable parameters, in the pursuit for quality and patient safety. Patient satisfaction is recognized as a cornerstone of quality, and Health IT appears to offer a promising solution to improving patient satisfaction (Rozenblum et al., 2013). Staff satisfaction is undoubtedly also one of risk management main objectives. Staff risk awareness can be improved, for example, by ensuring that they take part in developing solutions, testing strategies, estimating staff and technical resources, and redesigning workflow to match patient needs. Therefore, this continuous search for quality improvement and risks reduction in patient care processes can be achieved only through joint efforts and collaborative management at both the Hospital and departmental levels (Ruland, 2004).