Risk management is a method of identifying areas within an activity or process where problems might arise and putting in place actions and systems to mitigate the possibility of harm, or an adverse incident or outcome occurring. It is one of the seven pillars of clinical governance.
An important aspect of risk management is learning from mistakes and near misses in order to reduce the risk. All dental practices will have risks in common (e.g. in clinical activity, administration and staff employment), although risk assessment is specific to individual practices.
This section provides a definition of what constitutes a risk, and gives examples of the different types of risk that are common in dental practices and how to manage these risks.