Rising Risk Due to COVID-19 Requires a Nimble Response From Health Systems

Even before COVID-19, the healthcare industry was primed for major transformation. But by redefining and intensifying the risks confronting healthcare organizations, the pandemic has made the need for transformation more apparent and profound.

Effective enterprise risk management (ERM) is critical.

The factors that define risk in healthcare have markedly changed with the pandemic, and they are a key reason why executive resistance to change has no place on today’s leadership teams. The question for leaders is: “How should strategy evolve in this new era of healthcare, and do we have the agility to adjust course now and in the future?”

In 2021, four areas of risk should be top of mind for leaders:

1. Digital Health
2. More Disruptors
3. Lack of Agility
4. Price Transparency

As healthcare leaders work to build their risk-management muscle while dealing with an already-complex set of challenges, now is the time to incorporate ERM techniques that have been developed and honed both within the healthcare industry and by more volatile industries. Doing so will help leaders combat economic and operational uncertainty while strengthening stability in an era of transformative change.

Read the full HFMA byline.