Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sedgwick CMS Launches Healthcare Risk Management and Patient Safety Services Division

Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. today announced the establishment of its risk management and patient safety consultation practice to serve hospitals, physician groups, healthcare systems, insurance companies, and other healthcare organizations. Leading the company's efforts in this area is industry veteran Michelle Hoppes.

Sedgwick CMS's healthcare risk management practice is designed to create high reliability solutions for the risk management, quality, and patient safety challenges facing healthcare organizations today. Using proactive risk assessments, data analytics, compliance studies, and loss control metrics, Sedgwick CMS specialists will partner with clients in the healthcare arena to improve their performance and help them prevent medical errors and omissions that can result in patient injuries and financial losses related to medical malpractice claims and compliance issues.

"During the last decade, risk management and patient safety have emerged as top strategic initiatives in the healthcare industry. Changes in government regulations and payer components have further fueled the demand for expert consulting and resources," said David A. North, president and CEO of Sedgwick CMS.

"We are pleased to offer our healthcare professional liability clients and other organizations the most innovative and robust risk management and patient safety solutions available in the market today. The appointment of a seasoned professional like Michelle Hoppes to lead this initiative of the Sedgwick CMS professional liability team underscores our commitment to excellence as a provider of comprehensive claims and risk management services for the healthcare industry," North said.

Appointed senior vice president and national director of healthcare risk management and patient safety of Sedgwick CMS, Hoppes brings to her new role more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, risk management, patient safety, and performance improvement. She specializes in providing customized and innovative consulting through an enterprise risk management approach with a primary focus on clinical risk management.

A frequently published author and speaker on healthcare risk management and patient safety, Hoppes is an RN who holds a Master of Science in healthcare management and certifications in risk management and quality review. She currently serves as president of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), the nation's premier industry group for healthcare risk management professionals, as well as a board member and secretary of the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation.

"The addition of the risk management consulting practice, designed to aid in reducing risk and mitigating financial loss, to Sedgwick CMS's menu of services rounds out our world-class offerings in healthcare professional liability claims management, auditing, and clinical risk management," said Tim Over, Sedgwick CMS national director of professional liability.

To learn more about Sedgwick CMS's healthcare risk management and patient safety services, contact Michelle Hoppes at 704-995-2253, michelle.hoppes@sedgwickcms.com, or Tim Over at 312-356-0813, tim.over@sedgwickcms.com.

About Sedgwick CMS

Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. is the leading North American provider of innovative claims and productivity management solutions. Sedgwick CMS and its affiliated companies deliver cost-effective claims administration, medical management, risk consulting and related services to clients through the expertise of approximately 8,500 colleagues in more than 150 offices in the U.S. and Canada. The company specializes in workers' compensation; disability, FMLA and other employee absence; general, automobile and professional liability; alternative market; and warranty and credit card claims services as well as Medicare compliance solutions. Sedgwick CMS and its affiliates design and implement customized programs based on proven practices that meet client needs. To learn more, visit www.sedgwickcms.com.

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