Managed Risks

Managed risks are similar to normally prevented risks, except that it is more costly to prevent their occurrence. A managed risk is less likely to be due to negligence than a normally prevented risk. The managed risk is not as important in health care delivery as it is in other business endeavors. The clearest examples of managed risks involve risks to hospital employees rather than to patients.

One of the most serious managed risks is that of a hospital employee who contracts hepatitis. This occurs frequently, although its incidence could be drastically reduced by proper precautions. These precautions are not cost-effective, however, because the employees are prevented from suing the hospital by worker' compensation laws. If the hospital had to pay the full cost of such infections, hepatitis would become a normally prevented risk.