On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina invaded the Gulf Coast, with New Orleans in the middle of the storm. It was not long before, the city was 80 % underwater. There was a mandatory evacuation, and everyone – doctors and hospital staff – had to leave. We could not return to the city for several months. My practice was greatly affected. Since I spent a lot of time, I wrote a book, Disaster planning for clinical practiceWho discusses the lessons that I learned from the disaster and preparation practices that one must take before a disaster.
I watched the recent news about forest fires in Los Angeles and I saw that many Angelinus had been notified to evacuate before the fires. a lot, Including doctorsI left with clothes only on their back.
To help with medical practices at the country level preparation for future crises, this blog provides instructions and suggestions to develop a plan in its place before A disaster occurs. Disaster planning may seem to work pessimists. However, in the aftermath of 11/11 and Hurricane Katrina, and with increased environmental threats, every medical practice must have the plans necessary to direct their activities in the context of unexpected events. The active disaster plan contains examination lists that must be reviewed regularly before the disaster arrives. Under any circumstances, practices need to ensure the safety of their employees and continue to provide care for their patients even when they cannot reach the office or hospital.
Disaster plan components
The creation of a disaster plan involves all employees. Start setting parts of the plan for each employee and encouraging them to search for their mission.
The doctor and bean meters need a risk assessment. This consists of predicting the loss of revenue associated with different levels of disasters. It also includes an understanding of how the continuity break on your relationships with patients and referring doctors affects.
Planning also requires maintaining basic contact information. For example, a list of employee phones and email addresses should be stored at a site outside the site, as in doctors ’homes or office managers, in a bank box, or online. The current list of sellers, business partners, utilities and contact information information information is also very important.
The updated contact information can help your practice in keeping the employees to communicate. Their evaluation of the practice of practice must be maintained, and they are informed when they are expected to return to work, and if this practice has changed the sites. I also suggest asking a call or hierarchical sequence so that the most important employees are contacted first. Copies of this list must be distributed to doctors, office managers and other main employees.
A phone chain or phone tree can direct those who communicate with whom. You may even think about testing the phone tree one night to see that everyone will be informed of the situation. The main components of the employee communication menu include:
- Employee name
- position
- Main responsibilities
- Cell phone, home phone numbers
- Emergency communication numbers, and the relationship with the employee
- Email address
- Home address, including street, city, and postal code
It is also necessary to have a list of sellers, which includes the following information:
- The seller’s name
- Product or service provided
- Address and email address
- Contact the person’s name
- Numbers (numbers) the name and phone of the company responsible for the service or the device
- Copy of service contracts for equipment in the office
Maintaining other business information is also necessary for practice to stay. The good “continuity of operations” review menu includes:
- Insurance policies (the company’s name, the number of policies, the bicycle memo, and the proof of the current distinguished payments)
- Tax records over the past three years
- Financial data
- The elderly accounts are dues
- Bank account information
- Real estate ownership records (action, purchase and construction site) costs)
- Licensing (state, boycott)
- Organization documents, such as establishment articles
- Wrong practices documents
- Partnership agreements, office rental
- Construction plans and construction permits (must be required to rebuild the brick facility and mortar shells)
- Employee guide
- Inventory of office equipment (Consider a video of furniture and office equipment)
- Patient records from the electronic health registry
Regarding that last point, we cannot forget our patients: it is necessary to copy the patient’s data. This backup plan can be electronic and store data in the cloud. If you take this approach, you must have many cloud backup sites if the disaster affects the data stored in one of the sites.
The patient’s information review menu includes:
- Patient name
- address
- Contact the person’s name
- Call phone numbers
- Names and alternative numbers for the patient
- Email address
- The next date date
- How can the patient reach their records if they should see another doctor/training
- Modern diagnoses and medicines
To notify patients on how the crisis affects the office or hospital, you can: post a message on the practice site; Email patients; Or register an update on the response device. This should be done immediately after the disaster.
The plan becomes a continuous work and must be reviewed and updated annually. Certainly, the most difficult side is to start your disaster plan. The next step is to keep it current and modern. The plan, which is several years old, is not effective, as phone numbers, employees and conditions have changed.
You do not have business insurance? Consider obtaining it. Business Insurance-also known as business income protection, profit protection, or outside businesses-will provide money to compensate for the difference between your natural income and your income during forced closure after a disaster. Often, revenue reduction and patients who prove relationships with doctors or other practices in the wake of that directly can force a medical practice permanently. Business insurance can be vital for long -term survival. (Note that this blog does not aim to cover all the insurance components needed for the disaster plan. Other types of insurance may also be useful for your practice.)
Finally, one of the lessons I learned after Katrina was the importance of a plan related to the medications used in the office. Medicines that require cooling or their validity ended have no value and have not been replaced by pharmaceutical companies. Your disaster plan must include a ruling that all medications from the office – expensive medications that require cooling, and drugs with abuse capabilities – must be transferred in a refrigerated container and kept refrigerated so that you can return to the office.
Hope for the best, a plan for the worst
The bottom line: The possibility of a catastrophic disaster affects your practice of low. However, the disaster plan is similar to liability insurance – it provides comfort in knowing that in the event of a major catastrophe, your practice will not be in financial ruins. There is no way to completely combat bullets from your disaster; However, you can reduce the effect, losses and heartache if you have a written disaster plan. Ensure that there is a plan in its place long before it is needed. We hope you never need to use the plan, but you will have peace of mind and be ready to overcome any storm.
Neil Pom, PhD in Medicine, is a urology specialist in New Orleans, the company’s medical official Vanguard contactsAssistant Professor at the University of Toulin University in New Orleans, and author of the book “ Complete business guide for successful medical practice.
