When is the last time you reviewed your current policies and procedures for your practice? Have you ever reviewed your policy and procedures (p & p)? Did you know that your practice may be at risk? Were you even aware that there are services available to review your p & p?

We were recently engaged by a solo physician practice to perform a risk assessment after they had suffered a minor incident. Without going into details, the Department of Health was involved after a complaint was filed. The practice retained an attorney to see them through the process. After their investigation was complete, a settlement agreement was established. The agreement required the practice to pay a $10,000 fine, plus the cost of the attorney, and they agreed to have a risk assessment be performed by a certified healthcare risk manager!

So, what is involved in a risk assessment?

1. Review of all current policies and procedures by a certified risk manager. This includes risk management, quality assurance and all procedures performed during normal daily operation of the practice.
2. Report will be issued grading all current policies detailing the risk level of each policy in place.
3. Recommendations for missing policy and procedures that each practice should have in place to minimize risk.
4. Lastly, a follow up review in 6 months to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of recommendations from the risk review.

While most of us do the best we can making it through the day in our busy practices, the due diligence of reviewing your policies and procedures can minimize your risk of incident placing your practicing license in jeopardy. The cost of an assessment will vary based on the size of the practice and the volume of policies and procedures to be reviewed.

The current business atmosphere among health care organizations is very complex and competitive. There are pervasive risks in all facets of your operations and an increasing amount of regulatory requirements that your organization must comply with. As management sets objectives and identifies processes, a successful risk assessment and internal audit can help to locate high-risk areas within your operations as well as potential opportunities. This process will allow your organization to more efficiently determine where resources should be allocated.

If you feel your practice may be at risk, feel free to visit our website www.medmgtservices.com to learn more about limiting your risk.