Risk assessments: Don’t leave home without one!
An interesting phenomenon I’ve been encountering of late relates to the whole notion of having to do environmental risk assessments in locations that are not specifically designated for the management of behavioral health patients. At this point, I don’t know of any healthcare organizations that would be able to say that they would not be managing behavioral health patients, even if they don’t have inpatient bed capacity, though I suppose you might be able to set up a transfer policy with another local organization that does have inpatient capacity. But those beds are typically in fairly sort supply and might well end up with having to “hold” a behavioral health patient for a prolonged period of time. Maybe you can manage that continuum in your ED, but what if you had a surge of, hmmm, let’s say infectious patients. Is there a possibility that a behavioral health patient could end up on an inpatient unit? And could you say absolutely in either direction without having a risk assessment in your back pocket?
So you could make the case that moving the environmental concerns relating to behavioral health patients from the Environment of Care standards to the National Patient Safety Goals section of the accreditation program has clarified (to a degree) the expectations relative to the management of at-risk patients, but that clarity brings with it some mandates. The mandate comes in three pieces (so to speak): a thoughtful evaluation of the environment; a plan; and available resources to guide staff when you have to put at-risk patients in an environment that is not designated for managing that type of patient.
To my eyes and ears, a thoughtful evaluation of the environment sounds an awful lot like a risk assessment; the FAQ goes on to describe some examples of resources that could be provided to staff, including the use of an on-site psych professional to complete the environmental risk assessment if staff are not sufficiently competent to do so. Which means that, if you do use in-house staff, you might be pushed to identify how you know that the folks doing the evaluation of the space immediately before a patient is placed are competent to do so. Though I suppose that also means you might have to demonstrate how you evaluated the on-site psych person… ah, it never really ends, does it?
At any rate, if you have not done a quick (but thoughtful—gotta be thoughtful!) risk assessment of your non-BH patient spaces, it’s almost certainly worth your time to do so. To my mind, the best risk assessment of all is the one they don’t ask for because the effectiveness of the process is in evidence. But sometimes we don’t get credit for “doing the math in your head,” so the possession of the risk assessment is your best bet.
Thanks for tuning in. Please be well and continue to stay safe. Until next time…
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.