A typology for legal risk management in patient care in Australian hospitals

Abstract

The author reviewed the literature on legal risk management in patient care, andcarried out research in two acute care hospitals. The hospital research involvedauditing policies and procedures, interviewing key people in the hospital, reviewingexternal legal and policy trends, and examining selected complaints files and legalcases. The results were used to develop a ?typology? of legal risk management to provideguidelines and assistance to hospital management in improving their hospital?sstrategic response to legal vulnerability. The model sets out four levels of legal riskmanagement programs, and identifies specific components classified as promoting lossprevention, or loss minimisation.