Protecting patient safety and health outcomes in an era of increased provider specialization, pay for performance, aging infrastructure, and staffing and drug shortages are among the critically important issues facing healthcare systems today, according to Linda J. Ramsey, a healthcare risk management expert and program director of the University of Delaware’s Healthcare Risk Management Online Course.

UD’s Healthcare Risk Management online course addresses these issues by providing healthcare professionals with the background and skills necessary for working in the risk management and patient safety specialties.

The spring offering of the Healthcare Risk Management Online Course runs from March 12 through May 20 and is open for enrollment. The program provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of healthcare risk management and patient safety, which holds opportunities for professionals from a variety of healthcare disciplines.

“Risk management professionals are invaluable resources within any healthcare system,” said Ramsey, who has more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare risk management. “Healthcare organizations need to develop a culture of safety where even the lowest-ranking member of the team hierarchy feels safe to speak up and ask a question to protect patients and employees.

“Risk managers are ‘issue spotters,’ educators, project managers, policy writers and editors, identifying and working collaboratively across all disciplines to keep patients and staff safe.”

Healthcare risk management overlaps with a variety of disciplines including case management, compliance, legal, quality, patient safety and performance improvement. Professionals in all of these disciplines would benefit from the additional risk management training offered by this course, noted Ramsey.

This course also serves as a preparatory class for those pursuing the Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM) credential administered by the American Hospital Association.

Program topics include the role of risk manager; standards, laws, regulatory affairs and patient safety; enterprise risk management and corporate compliance; risk issues in non-healthcare settings; employee/employer risk; and risk financing, insurance and contracts. Students progress through the online course at their own pace within the 10-week completion schedule.

This noncredit program is offered through the University of Delaware’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies. Participants must be health-related professionals with experience in healthcare or related fields.

UD students and UD alumni are eligible for a discount when enrolling in this program. Also, program discounts are available for military personnel and veterans and groups of two or more individuals from one business or organization.

For more information about the Healthcare Risk Management Online Course including a detailed curriculum, visit http://www.pcs.udel.edu/risk-management/, write to continuing-ed@udel.edu or call 302-831-7600.