Risk management in pathology and laboratory medicine

An effective risk-management program focuses attention on and minimizes events that ideally should not occur. In the laboratory, risk-management issues can be divided along two major lines: (1) patient-care-related issues and (2) employee-related issues (safety). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Chicago, Ill, has established formal requirements for risk-management programs for hospitals and clinical departments. These requirements include patient-care-related activities and management functions related to the safety-management functions. The concept of a formal risk-management program may be new to pathologists and laboratory professionals; the components of the program are traditional elements of laboratory policies and procedures. Key items identified as building blocks for risk management are these: (1) risk prevention, (2) risk identification, (3) risk assessment, (4) corrective actions, and (5) loss control. Through the systematic implementation of a comprehensive risk-management program, laboratories have the opportunity to reduce liability exposure and improve the quality of care and services.