Good risk management crucial to organisational health, says Marsh

London, 12 May 2009

Effective risk management will prove a key differentiator between healthcare institutions as budgets increasingly come under pressure, according to Marsh, the world's leading insurance broker and risk adviser.

Rob Wendin, Head of Marsh's Healthcare Practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: "Worsening public finances - a result of the global economic downturn - are forcing governments to look for cost savings, with the health sector directly in the firing line with evidence already of funding squeezes and prescribed efficiency and performance gains. What many healthcare institutions don't realise is that effective risk management can ensure smarter access to insurance capital and greater efficiency of risk transfer and retention. It could make a real difference to an organisation's bottom line.

"Healthcare providers will gain vital efficiencies by using available risk management techniques to respond to the specific financial and strategic pressures they face in the current economic environment. This will help them make the right decisions that will ultimately ensure their sustainability through the downturn and give them the ability to focus more of their resources on frontline services."

Strategic risk management will be the topic of a panel discussion chaired by Marsh at the World Health Care Congress in Brussels on 13 to 15 May. 'Risk Management Strategy: Performance and Risk Optimisation' will be an interactive session in which senior leaders from international healthcare providers, payors and a regulator will reveal their views on the strategic and financial importance of risk management.

Emphasis at the session will be given to supporting improved access to funding and revenue gains whilst reducing overall costs without reducing quality and hence performance. Each will share some of their approaches, tools and techniques highlighted by their experiences. Marsh will explain how risk optimisation can be a critical component in an organisation's risk management repertoire.

The other panellists include: Andrew Vallance-Owen, Group Medical Director, Bupa; Sir Ian Kennedy, Former Chair of the UK Healthcare Commission; Len Deacon, Metropolitan Healthcare Group, South Africa; and, Dr Andrew Jones, Group Medical Director, Nuffield Health, United Kingdom.