Proactive Hazard Analysis for Risk Managers
For the risk manager, Prospective Hazard Analysis should be,
if not a familiar term, certainly a familiar concept. Estimating the
probability or frequency of hazardous events
as well as rating the impact of severity of the consequences is a normal
part of risk management practice. FMEA (failure modes effects analysis) is one
such method covered by the definition of literally hundreds of prospective
hazard analysis techniques.
This project seeks to engage risk management in the concept
of prospective hazard analysis applied to healthcare. This involves
interviewing risk managers as to any prior experience with current methods of
PHA whether attained through work in healthcare or elsewhere and their
requirements for PHA methods applied to healthcare. This will focus on any
particular features of the organization in which they work which may make PHA
challenging and whether these can be addressed with our support. We also
welcome their feedback as to any particular healthcare processes that may be
particularly risky or are currently undergoing review or change and that they
may want us to consider as a collaborative case study. In this, we would
welcome the identification of senior clinicians who are willing to be involved
in the project (see the clinician’s involvement page for more details).
For the risk manager, this project can be seen as
supportive of your work and an opportunity to be involved in research
demonstrating your organisation’s commitment to patient safety. It also
provides you with the benefit of “getting ahead of the game” and being part of
the Prospective Hazard Analysis concept at an early stage of its inevitable
implementation in healthcare. This allows you to be supported by the research
team to learn and implement PHA techniques on the problems you are having in
your organization. The results can be used by you as part of your risk
assessment work.