Risk Management
How often have you heard someone say, “Wow! I didn’t see that coming!”? Project failure is frequently attributed to unforeseen circumstances (risks) that emerge during the different phases of a project. Though project managers may be unable to fully anticipate all risks, they can make provisions for addressing potential risks that may arise in later phases of a project. It is essential to continually weigh and mitigate risks. But what about cases in which risk is deliberately increased to reach a desired outcome?
In this Discussion, you consider a scenario in which these questions arise. Based on the scenario, you generate strategies for mitigating potential project risks.
To prepare, consider the following scenario:
You are on the project team for an IT project that must be completed on time to coincide with the opening of a new hospital wing that will rely in part on this technology. You learn that the project manager has been ordering shortcuts on testing to meet the deadline. You can see that these actions keep the project on schedule and the product seems to work well, but you are concerned about the additional risk caused by the shortcuts. Do you intervene?
Post by tomorrow 9/27/16 a minimum of 550 words essay in APA format with 3 references, addressing the level one headings as numbered below:
1) A description of how you would respond to the situation described in the scenario.
2) Identify potential risks to the project if you do or do not take action.
3)Explain strategies you might use to mitigate the risks you identified. Is it ever beneficial to accept or increase risks in order to meet project goals? Justify your response.
Required Readings
Coplan, S., & Masuda, D. (2011). Project management for healthcare information technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter 3, “Project Management”“Risk Management” (pp. 100–104)
This section of Chapter 3 provides an overview of the basics of risk management in the context of project management. In particular, the text details how to prepare risk management plans, identify risks, perform quantitative and qualitative risk analyses, plan risk response, and monitor and control risk.
Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author.
Chapter 11, “Project Risk Management” (pp. 309–354)
This chapter provides an overview of project risk management processes. These processes include plan risk management, risk identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, planning risk responses, and monitoring and controlling risk.
Dearstyne, B. W. (2012). Smoothing the turbulence: Project management strategies for the changing workplace. Information Management Journal, 46(2), 28–33.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this article examines numerous successful project management strategies. The article goes into detail about essential elements of successful project management.
de Bakker, K., Boonstra, A., & Wortmann, H. (2012). Risk managements’ communicative effects influencing IT project success. International Journal of Project Management, 30(4), 444–457.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the authors explore how risk management contributes to the success of information technology projects. The article also differentiates the instrumental and communicative effects of risk management.
Engle, P. (2011). Crunch time. Industrial Engineer, 43(6), 20.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article examines the causes of information technology projects failing to achieve their objectives on time. The article focuses in particular on estimating scope, fluctuating project requirements, and a variety of distractions.
Kendrick, T. (2009). Identifying & managing project risk: Essential tools for failure-proofing your project(2nd ed., Ebrary version). New York, NY: AMACOM.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Chapter 4, “Identifying Project Schedule Risk.” (pp. 70–99)
In this chapter, Tom Kendrick explores the causes of project failure. Kendrick emphasizes schedule delays and problems with estimates and dependencies.

Assignment 1: Team Project Part 1: Project Charter and Team Plan for Collaboration
This week you begin working with a team to manage a fictional information technology project being implemented at the Casino Medical Center.
Work with your team members to create and submit a Project Charter and Team Plan for Collaboration based on the Team Project Scenario and the Team Project Overview document. Review the details about the Project Charter and Team Plan for Collaboration below:
Team Project Scenario
Casino Medical Center (CMC) in Las Vegas, a 600-bed hospital, has expanded significantly over the past 3 years. In an effort to respond to the increased workload of all hospital staff, the chief information officer (CIO) and the vice president of patient care services (VP-PCS) at CMC determined the need to analyze hospital processes throughout the organization.
The CMC organizational analysis revealed a number of areas that needed improvement. At the same time, broad changes in regulatory requirements required immediate adjustments in processes.
The organizational analysis was conducted across all departments and found the following organization-wide issues.
· Quality reviews discovered a hospital-wide medication administration error rate of 20% with some tasks identified as redundanttasks.
· Complying with new federal reporting requirements has increased the time needed to complete the medication administrationprocess.
CMC responded to the problem by purchasing an enterprise-wide health care information system from Topmost, one of the leading enterprise-software vendors in the country. The functionality of the system directly addresses the medication administration issues found in the organizational analysis. Several modules of an electronic health record system (EHRS) have already been implemented, as shown in the table below.
As employees of Topmost, you and your team are charged with implementing this medication administration system for CMC, the final phase of the EHRS project. This medication administration system includes an electronic medication administration record (eMAR), Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA), and physical administration of medication. Note: For the remainder of this scenario, this whole process will be referred to as the Medication Administration System (MAS).
Module Implementation Status
Module in the HIS System
Status of Module Implementation
Fully implemented
Partially implemented
In pilot
Not yet implemented
ADT (Accounting System)
X
Order Entry/Results Reporting OE/RR)
X
Billing and Financials
X
Ambulatory and Acute Care Clinical Documentation System
X
Module in the HIS System
Status of Module Implementation
Fully implemented
Partially implemented
In pilot
Not yet implemented
Laboratory
X
Medication Administration System (MAS)
X
Note that the Medication Administration System (MAS) module has not been implemented.
The CIO and VP-PCS relate that there are a number of challenges associated with the CMC health care information system program, including the MAS project. One risk is that the initial implementation of the MAS may result in a temporary increase in medication errors. Another risk is that staff resistance to the new workflows and processes brought about by the MAS may cause delays in the completion of the implementation.
In meetings with the CIO and VP, they state that the first task for the team is to develop the project charter. The MAS team is assigned specific elements to be included in the project charter: the mission of the project, the problem statement, the project objectives, key stakeholders, milestones, and risks for the project. A list of the team members and the team’s plan for collaboration on this project also will be integrated into the charter.
A new chief medical information officer (CMIO) has been hired. This CMIO does not have the informatics expertise required to lead this critical and large project. However, the CMIO has gained solid experience on small-scale decision-support projects at a former institution while studying informatics in graduate school. The CMIO is looking forward to learning from you and your team.
The budget for the MAS project is approved up to $1 million. If more than $1 million is needed to implement the project, the additional expenditure must be justified in a project plan that key stakeholders approve. The software application for the Medication Administration System and necessary hardware have already been purchased, but they have not been delivered. Your team has a timeline of 6 months to complete the MASproject.
Project Charter
Work with your team to create a project charter that includes the following:
Mission of the project
Problem statement
Project objectives
Scope of the project
Milestones within the project
Deliverables—a defined product produced as part of the project
Assumptions
List of key stakeholders
Project risks
List of team members, roles, and a plan for collaboration
Much of the information for the project charter can be extrapolated from the Team Project Scenario. As the project moves forward, additional hypothetical situations for the project can be developed by the team members.
2- Team Plan for Collaboration
Working as a team, create and submit your team’s plan for collaboration. In this plan, you identify and describe the general guidelines and plan you will follow to work successfully online and optimize your collective skills. Address the following:
1. Team identification: A listing of all team members. (Susan N., Barbara W., Jaime W.).
2. Team vision: A brief statement that embodies your team’s ideal in completing this project and targets all you want to accomplish together.
3. Processes and expectations for communication: The most effective means of working together from a distance are asynchronous modes that allow team members to express thoughts and share ideas according to their own schedules. You also need to consider the best ways to share any documents or information you may gather from speaking directly to an expert in a field or from a source that is only available to you in hard copy.
4. Determination of roles and division of work for the project: Typical roles include an organizer, who makes sure that everyone stays on track; editors, who take the agreed-upon final contributions of team members and fit them into the team-project deliverable; and a presenter, who uploads the assembled version of the project into the document sharing area and writes a summary introduction. These suggested roles are guidelines. For the purposes of this project, you may discover that different or additional roles that fit the project scenario are most effective. Each team member could be assigned a position title and credentials that match their role in the project scenario. Keep in mind that the team roles may change as requirements change. None of the roles you decide on takes the place of participation when it comes to the content of the project. All team members should contribute to the project content and discussions. (DO NOT DO THIS PART)
5. Approaches to conflict and agreement: This item should address the way you would like to see conflicts resolved and determine agreed-upon guidelines or processes you will follow to resolve them. Consider a worst-case scenario and agree to specific actions the team will take should this scenario occur. Include a description of potential negative consequences that may result from the actions.
6. Expectations for participation: One of the biggest objections to working with an online team is the fear that some members will not participate or that one or two members will be burdened with the majority of the work. In this section, determine and agree upon expectations for participation and the measures you will take when someone is not participating as fully as you expect or when someone seems to be doing too much, such as taking over all of the discussions. Have a plan for taking on a team member’s work, should the need arise to do so.

Topics in US Health Delivery
International Comparison of Data
The World Health Organization’s “Statistical Information System” is an interactive database that allows you to compare health indicators for multiple countries. For this Assignment, you will compare data from the two countries you selected for Discussion 2 with the United States (i.e., compare the same countries in both Discussion 2 and the Assignment).
In preparation for this Assignment, consider the value of using standardized quantitative health measures or indicators to compare information internationally. Examine the definitions of indicators presented in the Learning Resources, including pages 55–62 of the Shi and Singh (2015) textbook.
Use the WHO website found in this module’s Learning Resources to examine country statistics and profiles. Create a table to record data related to three health indicators for the three countries (i.e., the two you have selected to compare with the United States, for a total of three countries) as illustrated in the “Module 5 Example” document (located in the Learning Resources).
Once your table is complete, compare the data and analyze it in light of the information presented in this module’s Learning Resources and the research you conducted for Discussion 2. What insights does this comparison give you about health and disease within the U.S. health care delivery system and the systems of the two other countries you selected?
The Assignment
Write a 2- to 3-page paper in which you:
Identify the two countries that you are comparing with the United States.Define the three health indicators you have selected for your analysis and explain why you chose them.Include the table you created to record and compare your data.Summarize the results of your comparison, sharing at least two insights that you gained through this analysis of health and disease in the United States and your two selected countries.

Discussion 2: Anaphylactic ShockThe treatment of anaphylactic shock varies depending on a patient’s physiological response to the alteration. Immediate medical intervention and emergency room visits are vital for some patients, while others can be treated through basic outpatient care.
Consider the January 2012 report of a 6-year-old girl who went to her school nurse complaining of hives and shortness of breath. Since the school did not have any medication under her name to use for treatment and was not equipped to handle her condition, she was sent to an emergency room where she was pronounced dead. This situation has raised numerous questions about the progression of allergic reactions, how to treat students with severe allergies, how to treat students who develop allergic reactions for the first time, and the availability of epinephrine in schools. If you were the nurse at the girl’s school, how would you have handled the situation? How do you know when it is appropriate to treat patients yourself and when to refer them to emergency care?
To Prepare
Review “Anaphylactic Shock” in Chapter 23 of the Huether and McCance text, “Distributive Shock” in Chapter 10 of the McPhee and Hammer text, and the Jacobsen and Gratton article in the Learning Resources.Identify the multisystem physiologic progression that occurs in anaphylactic shock. Think about how these multisystem events can occur in a very short period of time.Consider when you should refer patients to emergency care versus treating as an outpatient.Select two patient factors different from the one you selected in this week’s first Discussion: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior. Reflect on how the factors you selected might impact the process of anaphylactic shock.By Day 4Post an explanation of the physiological progression that occurs in anaphylactic shock. Then, describe the circumstances under which you would refer patients for emergency care versus treating as an outpatient. Finally, explain how the patient factors you selected might impact the process of anaphylactic shock.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.