Seeing Risk Before It Sees You

Risk assessment in healthcare is shifting from a backwardlooking, compliancedriven exercise toward a more demanding focus on foresight. In this chapter, risk is treated not as a static checklist but as a living signal of system strain, human limits, and organizational resilience. Two complementary approaches are examined: Proactive Risk Assessment (PRA) and Proactive Latent Risk Assessment (PLRA, each contributing differently to safety and reliability. PRA focuses on protecting execution by identifying threats to scope, timelines, resources, and operational readiness, often within defined projects. PLRA broadens the lens to surface quieter risks introduced through structural decisions, workload assumptions, cultural norms, and environmental conditions that shape behavior long before harm occurs. Drawing on safety science and real world application, the chapter shows how PRA and PLRA reveal distinct yet interdependent forms of risk. Used together, they support early signal detection, reduce cognitive burden, strengthen psychological safety, and anticipate system strain under pressure.