Practice Management Alert

A comprehensive disaster plan could be the difference in your business surviving or going under after a big storm. Don’t skimp on the preparations — pore over your disaster preparedness plan with a fine-tooth comb STAT before hurricane season advances and you find yourself stranded and desperate.

And when you’re done, you can sit back, content, because your disaster preparedness plan will carry you through hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, floods, wildfires — and even manmade disasters like active shooters, cyberattacks, or terrorist attacks.

Keep in mind the most important thing — the details. As you’re evaluating your disaster preparedness, try to think through every aspect of your practice, from how any expensive equipment will fare to how you’ll keep in communication with staff and patients to whether you can access medical records remotely.

The Occupational Safety and Health Information Association (OSHA) provides important considerations for every level of your emergency plan, including evacuation from your practice premises:

“It is important to have an evacuation plan in place to ensure that workers can get to safety in case a hurricane may affect the area. A thorough evacuation plan should include:

• “Conditions that will activate the plan
• “Chain of command
• “Emergency functions and who will perform them
• “Specific evacuation procedures, including routes and exits
• “Procedures for accounting for personnel, customers and visitors
• “Equipment for personnel.”

With all of this in mind, it’s important to have your plan in place, and then make sure you and your entire staff also know when to implement parts or all of the plan.

Don’t feel overwhelmed — there are many government and private resources, including checklists, to help you make sure your plans are comprehensive and ready to implement.

Spending some time and resources to plan for disaster now can save your practice money, time, and headaches later, said Diana Hatsis, BSN, RN, COT, who presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) annual meeting in 2018. Here are some resources she recommends:

• OSHA’s Emergency Action Plan (EAP) Checklist [https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/checklists/eap.html].
• The Medical Practice Disaster Planning Workbook by Owen J. Dhal, FACHE, CHBC (Greenbranch Publishing) [https://greenbranch.com/store/index.cfm/product/1282_18/the-medical-practice-disaster-planning-workbook-pdf.cfm]. This book helps you think through what you’ll need to both to respond effectively during the event itself and to reestablish your business amidst the disaster’s wake. Use the workbook to create policies, training, and grab-and-go checklists to streamline your response before, during, and after the disaster.
• FEMA offers a free app that provides real-time updates and disaster-specific checklists and resources during an event—as long as cell towers and cell service remain viable. Ask each of your staff members to download it so that you’re all ready for anything: https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app.

See story clip and save for tips to keep in mind as you craft or reevaluate your disaster preparedness plans.