An Interview with a Senior Risk Manager
Our own El Harris interviews a senior risk manager about her roles and responsibilities and how the SNF Metrics Risk Suite is embedded into her daily operation. Wendy highlights the importance of her clinical care background to be able to manage her 15 nursing homes and work with their care teams to reduce and manage all risks. She discusses how Risk Suite improves risk management workflows and communication within her team to reduce incidents, save staff time, improve reporting accuracy, and provide confidence across her entire operation.
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The Importance of a Clinical Background for Risk Managers
In our first episode, Wendy shares insights on why she values her strong clinical background in caring for nursing home residents. She also discusses the value of her “been there/done that” experiences and why this makes her one of the best risk managers today. She emphasizes that a clinical understanding is paramount when evaluating risks, as not all falls, wounds, elopements, and other incidents are equal.
Boosting Nursing Productivity: EMR’s Positive Impact Care
Wendy provides us with a brief history of electronic medical records (EMRs) and their impact on all nursing home care workflows. She recalls the “early days” when she first just inputted vital signs into the EMR to today, where the complete resident medical record is captured electronically and shared enterprise-wide. EMRs have streamlined access to patient information with industry-wide, positive impacts across the entire spectrum of care.
Accessing this captured data from the EMR provides even further opportunities for care advancements, especially in risk management.
Technology Advancements Improve The Risk Reporting Process
The discussion pivots towards SNF Metrics‘ Risk Suite, highlighting the stark differences between Risk Suite and her SNF operator’s previous risk management platform (you have to listen to the interview to learn which one). The Risk Suite platform includes an enterprise risk reporting app, an enterprise grievance log app, and two dashboards comprised of 30 live and interactive reports focused on risks and grievances and strategies to manage and mitigate both.
Wendy notes that each risk category requires a different set of responses and data that needs to be captured. The data required for a fall is vastly different than that for a choking hazard. SNF Metrics has generated a different risk report for each risk category. Auto-generated data fields, drop-down menus, and mandatory data fields ensure that the risk is completely captured.
SNF Metrics’ user-friendly interface and customized incident reports are praised for simplifying the risk reporting process, which also drives reporting accuracy.
Risk Suite in Action: Enhancing Risk Mitigation Strategies
The interview provides insights into the daily activities of a risk manager using SNF Metrics. The real-time notifications feature is highlighted as a critical tool for monitoring incidents across multiple facilities in real-time. Wendy explains how high-severity incidents prompt immediate action and intervention, preventing delays and potential regulatory issues.
Risk Management Made Easy: Monitoring and Closing Open Risks
Open risks and the importance of timely closure are discussed, with Wendy admitting that some facilities struggle with closing risk reports promptly. However, the standard practice of closing risks within five days is recommended. SNF Metrics allows for easy monitoring of open risks, simplifying the process of tracking and addressing outstanding issues.
Proactive Grievance Management: Preventing Escalation with SNF Metrics
Grievance management is compared to risk reporting, with Wendy highlighting the advantages of SNF Metrics in streamlining the grievance resolution process. Wendy emphasizes the importance of resolving grievances promptly to prevent escalation to regulatory authorities. SNF Metrics‘ push notifications and user-friendly interface make it easier for administrators to address grievances in a timely manner.
Visibility at All Levels: Grievance Logs for Facilities, Regions, and Corporations
SNF Metrics‘ integration with resident information from the EMR is noted as a significant advantage in grievance management. The system allows for tracking grievances at various levels, from individual facilities to regions and corporations. Wendy notes the availability of detailed grievance reports to identify recurring issues at specific facilities.
The Indispensable Role of Risk Suite in Managing Multiple Nursing Homes
The interview concludes with Wendy expressing the impossibility of managing 15 facilities efficiently without SNF Metrics’ Risk Suite. The tool’s ability to centralize incident reporting, streamline workflows, and provide real-time notifications is commended. Wendy stresses that without SNF Metrics, she would need to manage fewer facilities, expect more errors and omissions, and rely on more manual reporting tools, a task made considerably more daunting without this invaluable tool.
Interview Summary
This interview provides a comprehensive overview of how a clinical background, combined with SNF Metrics‘ Risk Suite, can significantly enhance risk management and grievance resolution processes in the healthcare industry. The tool’s ability to centralize risk-based data, automate incident reporting, and provide real-time notifications has proven indispensable in efficiently managing multiple nursing homes and ensuring the highest standards of care and compliance.
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