What Labs Need to Know About Risk Management in Software
Every time we ride a bicycle, drive a car, or travel by plane, we’re faced with the risk of injury. While we can’t completely eliminate all the risks, we can reduce our chances of getting hurt — think bicycle helmets, seat belts, and oxygen masks. Similarly, clinical diagnostic labs have to accept a certain amount of risk (this is known as risk acceptance), but there are a number of ways these risks can be mitigated.
At Semaphore, we agree with the adage that “prevention is better than a cure”. We’ve found that proactively planning for risk mitigation creates significantly better options for dealing with the inevitable real-life events. A happy by-product we’ve experienced from this proactive strategy is that the cost of mitigation goes down, and dealing with the events is less stressful.
We recommend labs create a software-specific risk management strategy, like those used in other industries to identify financial, legal, technology, and other risks. A formal plan can help you prioritize risks so that you manage the most threatening ones ahead of those that will have less impact on your business.
