PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—“One of the calls we get all the time is from new risk managers who don’t have much experience or training in the field,” says Paul Anderson, director of risk management publications at ECRI Institute

“They might be nurses or social workers or they might come from a financial or insurance background. We thought it was time to give these new risk managers some basic educational tools to help when they say to us, ‘I woke up this morning and now I’m a risk manager.'”

ECRI Institute’s new online education program, Risk Management Basics, is designed to help risk managers and other healthcare professionals gain the foundational knowledge they need to handle challenges across the continuum of care. The courses are based on the guidance ECRI Institute has been providing for more than 30 years in its Healthcare Risk Control System.

“It’s not just risk managers who need risk education,” adds Anderson. “ECRI Institute’s Risk Management Basics courses can help staff at every level of an organization develop common skills. Staff can support a strong safety culture by having a basic understanding of how risks are identified and managed, and how important each team member’s role is in speaking up when they notice risks.”

Covering all care settings, the 10-course online program provides an understanding of the essential elements of risk management:

1. Getting Started with Risk Management
2. The First Step in Risk Management: Risk Identification
3. Establishing a Culture of Safety
4. Setting Priorities: Evaluating and Analyzing Risk
5. Stopping Problems before They Start: Risk Prevention and Management
6. Getting Started with Patient Safety
7. Risk Mapping and Maintaining a Risk and Patient Safety Program
8. Everyone’s a Risk Manager: Get Staff Involved in Patient Safety and Risk
9. Make Risk Management Part of Daily Operations
10. The Last Piece: Measuring and Monitoring Risk

The courses are interactive, mixing text, audio, matching games, and more to help learners of all types gain this basic foundation. Learners will be able to establish and execute complete risk management programs in their organizations, with a goal of better mitigating risks, improving patient outcomes, and reducing financial risk.
About ECRI Institute

ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best to enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 50 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO is listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Find ECRI Institute on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ECRIInstitute) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ECRI_Institute).