Assignment: The CIO needs your assistance in building a risk management plan. The organization has implemented an electronic health record (EHR) system to comply with the provisions of the HITECH Act, which provides short-term incentives for using an EHR in a meaningful way and long-term penalties for failing to use an EHR.
The CIO would like to extend the capabilities of the EHR to provide a portal through which patients can access their health records. The CIO explains that she has concerns about the idea of a patient portal, especially pertaining to the organization’s ability to comply with privacy and security laws. In addition, she is concerned about access to medical records in the event of some sort of natural disasters, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or flood.
The CIO would like you to perform a risk analysis and develop a risk management plan focused on the patient portal to their EHR that addresses legal, regulatory, and environmental risks.
You will complete each section of this report.
Complete the following document using the Risk Management Plan Template:
- Risk Identification
- Risk Analysis
- Explain techniques for quantitative risk analysis for selected critical IT functions.
- Explain techniques for qualitative risk analysis for selected critical IT functions.
- Risk Response Planning
- Analyze techniques for risk response planning for selected critical IT functions.
- Risk Monitoring
- Analyze techniques for risk monitoring planning for selected critical IT functions.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word memo to discuss the importance of regulatory requirements, security and privacy laws, and monitoring compliance. Your memo should:
- Explain the major regulatory requirements that have a direct effect on IT in a health care organization when outsourcing the identified IT function.
- Explain how security and privacy laws affect the design and operation of the outsourced IT function.
- Explain the role of IT in monitoring compliance with the organization’s risk management policies and plans when outsourcing the identified IT function.
Cite at least 3 reputable references. One reference must be your textbook, Managing Risk in Information Systems. Reputable references include trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality.
Format your presentation according to APA guidelines. Include a title page, detailed speaker notes, and a references page.
Discussion: Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Not all risks have an equal probability of occurrence, nor are they all equal in potential impact.
- How would you organize your project team to sort the high-probability and high-impact risks from the low-probability and low-impact risks and manage them accordingly?
- Also, consider as a project manager, a big part of your role is customer communications. Define your communication strategy and its frequency and type to be sure all stakeholders are constantly informed.
Replies: 100 words response
Tiffany Wilson-To effectively manage risks with varying probabilities and impacts and maintain robust stakeholder communication, I would implement the following strategies:
Risk Prioritization and Team Organization: My approach to risk management involves a structured, multi-faceted strategy, leveraging both qualitative and quantitative analysis, and is embedded within a clear organizational framework.
- Establish a Risk Management Committee: I would form a dedicated Risk Management Committee (RMC) composed of subject matter experts from diverse of the project, including engineering, finance, operations, and legal. This ensures a comprehensive assessment of risks from multiple perspectives.
- Qualitative Risk Assessment: Initially, the RMC would conduct a qualitative risk assessment to categorize risks based on their probability and impact. This involves
- Probability Assessment: Utilizing a predefined probability scale (e.g., Very Low, Low, Moderate, High, Very High) with corresponding numerical ranges (e.g., 0.01-0.99), the RMC would estimate the likelihood of each identified risk occurring
- Impact Assessment: Similarly, the RMC would assess the potential impact of each risk on project objectives (e.g., schedule, cost, performance) using a defined impact scale (e.g., Negligible, Minor, Moderate, Major, Catastrophic) with corresponding quantitative thresholds (e.g., $0-$10k cost overrun, 1-week schedule delay).
- Risk Matrix: The results of the quantitative assessment are then mapped onto a risk matrix (Probability vs. Impact). this visual tool categorizes risks into zones.
3.Quantitative Risk Assessment: For high-priority risks identified in the qualitative assessment, a more rigorous quantitative analysis would be performed.
Kristi Spears-Organizing a Project Team for Risk Prioritization and Management
Since risks vary in probability and impact, sorting and managing them effectively requires a structured approach. Here’s how I would organize a project team to handle this:
- Risk Assessment & Categorization
- Establish a Risk Review Committee consisting of senior project members, IT security experts, and compliance officers.
- Use a Risk Matrix to classify risks into high-probability, high-impact vs. low-probability, low-impact categories.
- Conduct brainstorming sessions and historical data analysis to estimate risk likelihood and severity.
- Role Assignments for Risk Handling
- Risk Owners: Assign specific team members to oversee critical risks and mitigation efforts.
- Mitigation Specialists: Task security engineers or analysts with designing control measures for high-priority risks.
- Compliance Monitors: Ensure regulatory adherence, particularly for IT risks affecting legal and privacy concerns.
- Contingency Planning Team: Develop backup strategies for risks that cannot be fully mitigated.
- Risk Management Strategies
- High-Probability, High-Impact Risks: Immediate mitigation required through strict security protocols, system redundancies, or vendor reassessments.
- High-Probability, Low-Impact Risks: Develop operational safeguards with minimal disruption.
- Low-Probability, High-Impact Risks: Maintain contingency plans for rare but severe incidents (e.g., ransomware attacks).
- Low-Probability, Low-Impact Risks: Monitor passively without extensive resource allocation
