Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: identifying and analyzing potential events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment; and making judgments "on the tolerability of the risk on the basis of a risk analysis" while considering influencing factors.Risk assessment is necessary in individual cases, including patient and physician interactions.Individual judgements or assessments of risk may be affected by psychological, ideological, religious or otherwise subjective factors, which impact rationality of the process.A systematic review of patients and doctors from 2017 found that overstatement of benefits and understatement of risks occurred more often than the alternative.There is a tendency for individuals to be less rational when risks and exposures concern themselves as opposed to others.There is also a tendency to underestimate risks that are voluntary or where the individual sees themselves as being in control, such as smoking.A 2017 systematic review from the Cochrane collaboration suggests "well-documented decision aids" are helpful in reducing effects of such tendencies or biases.The ways statistics are expressed and communicated, both through words and numerically also impact the interpretation of benefit and harm. For example, a fatality rate may be interpreted as less benign than the corresponding survival rate.
Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of:
identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. risk analysis); and making judgments "on the tolerability of the risk on the basis of a risk analysis" while considering influencing factors (i.e. risk evaluation).
Put in simpler terms, a risk assessment determines possible mishaps, their likelihood and consequences, and the tolerances for such events.The results of this process may be expressed in a quantitative or qualitative fashion. Risk assessment is an inherent part of a broader risk management strategy to help eliminate any potential risk-related consequences