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Risk Management takes many forms. Financial risk management, for example, is an exercise in research and computation. Financial risk management can be done without ever leaving the confines of an office. Workplace risk management, on the other hand, involves real world activities as varied as design, construction, workplace practices and training. In healthcare risk management, there was a time when healthcare risk management referred to the care and education of the patient. The healthcare professional advised the patient on medicine, diet, nutrition, exercise, cleanliness and other issues so that the patient was empowered to take personal steps that reduced the patient’s risk of injury and illness and increased the patient’s chances of healing and recovery.

Today, sadly, healthcare risk management refers to the steps the medical profession must take to reduce the chance of litigation. Courses in healthcare risk management are now offered at the state level in many jurisdictions for health care professionals who want to stay eligible for promotion as risk (i.e., liability) management becomes increasingly integrated into the expected skill set of healthcare administrators.

The skill set for healthcare risk management changes from state to state and nation to nation. In general, certification is offered to registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, pharmacists physicians, medical technicians, emergency medical technicians and chiropractors.

Because most students come to the subject from a medical, rather than a business, background, the first course in a healthcare risk management curriculum is usually an overview of risk management as a subject in business administration. The overview tends to draw heavily on the financial and workplace safety models of risk management.

Other subjects studied include an introduction to health care regulations and standards, the legal constituents of negligence, liability and malpractice, insurance claims management, risk identification methods and, perhaps most importantly, risk exposures in healthcare institutions, including clinics, medical offices, off-site testing facilities, long term care as well as hospitals.

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