HCPA Success Story: Risk Management and Corporate Integrity
Risk management in healthcare institutions requires more than identifying situations that may affect the organization. It is necessary to involve different departments, strengthen the internal culture, and establish a structure capable of supporting continuous risk monitoring.
At Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), a public university hospital affiliated with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, this initiative became part of a broader journey involving quality, safety, and corporate management.
How Can Risk Management Be Structured in a Complex Organization?
The creation of the Corporate Risk and Integrity Coordination Office expanded work that was already being carried out by the Audit department and managers from different areas of the hospital.
One of the main challenges was turning risk management into a process that people knew and understood. This involved working on organizational culture, encouraging team engagement, and creating the conditions needed to prevent information from remaining scattered or restricted to isolated controls.
“Risk management, compliance, and governance form an inseparable triangle. Compliance, in particular, is a sensitive area in which we need to work on organizational culture. Changing culture is not easy. The challenge is significant. In a hospital, understanding risks is essential. Otherwise, the organization may face unexpected situations and be unable to work preventively. Today, the word ‘risk’ is widely used at HCPA. Internal audits are already being conducted based on risks. The greater the risk, the more in-depth the audit. This is a trend that Brazil is fortunately beginning to adopt and require.
However, all of this is a long-term effort. It cannot be achieved in the short term. When the project was planned and I listed everything that needed to be done, I almost gave up. But I do not give up easily. I realized that the process is built over time and that there is no room for anxiety. It must be carried out step by step, involving and educating everyone so that they understand the importance of the process.
Once the work with Interact’s SA Suite is consolidated and all the information has been entered, we will continue educating people on how to use the tool. One example of the work that will be developed involves contracts. Every contract will include a risk matrix within the system and will be managed using that matrix as a reference. This will enable integrated management.”
Armando Gass
Corporate Risk Management and Integrity Coordinator
Explore the Experience of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre
The success story presents HCPA’s journey in developing its risk management and corporate integrity practices, from the context that motivated the project to the involvement of teams and technology throughout the process.
The material also shows how the partnership with Interact supported the organization and monitoring of the information required for more integrated management. Details about the stages, challenges, and evolution of the project are available in the full content.
More than an isolated change, HCPA’s experience demonstrates that risk management is an ongoing process that depends on education, participation, and organizational maturity.
Access the HCPA success story for free and explore this journey.
