Risk management information system architecture for a hospital center : the case of CHTMAD

Abstract

In modern day’s institutions, risk management plays a crucial role as it aims to minimize the likelihood of adverse events and contributes to improve the quality of services delivery. In health care, an effective risk management is only possible if supported by information systems that can produce high quality measures and meaningful risk indicators. These indicators will then allow the healthcare organization to self-assess by identifying critical gaps and opportunities for improvement in several frontiers. Such an organizational thrust is not only warranted for competitiveness but also fundamental for the purpose of benchmarking, accreditation and certification. Additionally, monitoring of specific indicators is often required by the tutelage. However, the development of a risk management system can be an arduous process due to the inherent complexity of clinical systems. This paper presents an architecture for the implementation of a risk management information system, using as example the case of CHTMAD, a Portuguese hospital center.