Promoting a Culture of Safety through Responsiveness and Transparency

Clinical risk management at the University of Michigan Health System is all about service for director Susan Anderson, M.S.N., M.B.A., CPHRM. Her department, which has 22 full-time employees, is available any time for inquiries. “We’re here to act as a sounding board,” she says. When it comes to discussing adverse events or potential problems, Anderson estimates that the department receives about 100 calls each day.

Anderson, who has been in the risk management field for more than 20 years, 14 of which have been at the University of Michigan, started her career as a nurse. Her transition to risk management was in part prompted by an interest in forensic reviews, which “puts the pieces together, and allows you to think outside the box.” There certainly are a lot of “pieces” to assemble in her data-driven department—in addition to the consultation calls, the department processes over 17,000 incident reports each year. The team also provides periodic educational sessions for various departments that detail relevant claim...