Holistic risk management for inpatient care facilities

A well-known megatrend is the demographic development in society. People are getting older. However, this is also accompanied by an increasing demand for support in old age. Outpatient and inpatient care services will become even more important than they already are. Currently, care costs in Germany amount to around 40 billion euros (2013), in Switzerland to 9.7 billion Swiss francs (2015) and in Austria to 3.9 billion euros (2018) (curaviva 2017, Federal Statistical Office). For care facilities, this means that they will become more important, but also that the requirements will increase. This relates to both economic and medical-care aspects. In addition to rising demands for quality and services on the part of residents, safety requirements and the relevance of preventive measures are also increasing. For example, infection prevention gained a whole new explosiveness in the context of the COVID pandemic, but also classic measures, such as fall prophylaxis, continue to pose challenges to care facilities in the course of risk identification. The shortage of skilled workers in the nursing professions is adding to the pressure on care facilities.