[Risk management: relationship with the patient's relatives, who does what?].

Risk management is the systematic process of identification, evaluation and treatment of current and potential risks. In the last decades it has acquired a significant importance also in the medical field, where it aims to increase patient' safety, to reduce adverse events and costs, thus improving patients' outcomes. Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a clinical field where operative procedures are carried out; some of them may have complications, which can lead to legal cases; among such techniques endoscopic ultrasonography is acceptably safe. The aim of the article is to highlight some aspects of the risk management which are related with the patient's relatives, in the field of endoscopic ultrasonography: from the gathering of the case history to the required information for a safe discharge. Communication skills and attention given to the information process, can allow the reduction of clinical risks for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.