| Excerpted from a presentation by Roger G. Bonds, MBA, FMSD, CMSR, Excecutive Director, The American Academy of Medical Management
Did you know that 20 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses will suffer a disaster every five years? That means there is a 40 percent chance that your business will experience a disaster within 10 years, and it equates to nearly a 100 percent chance in 25 years.
Forty-three percent of businesses, including medical practices, never reopen after a disaster. Just ask your friends along the Gulf Coast! Statistically speaking, you and your practice WILL face a disaster sooner or later, and it is your responsibility to keep the practice going and serve your providers, staff, patients and perhaps even refuges. Remember: there is no practice if the providers and staff are not there!
Some of the most common disasters are caused by water (flood, rain/water damage, tornado, hurricane, snow/ice storm, toilet/water heater or other overflow); Emergencies (fire/smoke damage, chemical spill, explosion, transportation/road failures); Natural (forest fire, lightning strikes, earthquake, volcanoes and severe drought); Electronic Systems/Data Failures (loss of connectivity, computer virus, hacker, data back-up failure, natural gas/water/gasoline/electrical outage or heating/AC failure); or Financial (loss of major contracts, credit availability, embezzlement or loss of providers/employees) Sometimes people are the problem (riot, epidemic, theft, vandalism, strike, sudden death of physician, military duty, bomb threat, terrorism).
More than 90,000 square miles were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and Rita (2005). Why people stayed:
- 30,000 gave up on driving out as roads were jammed and gas was in short supply
- 30,000 stayed who had no transportation
- 25,000 stayed to protect their property
- 22,000 stayed to care for their elderly family, friends or neighbors
- 11,000 stayed for their pets
- 4,000 adults stayed for their young children
In addition, thousands of first responders, medical and law enforcement left with their families and thousands more were stopped from coming in.
Major lessons learned:
- Protect or remove precious memories
- Electronically scan everything that can be burned, water-damaged or blow away
- Scan and e-mail to yourself: drivers license, passport, birth certificate, insurance papers, etc.
- Cell phones might now work but sometimes text messaging will!
- Keep an old analog phone at home/office. It runs on phone line power and no separate electricity
- Government and legal documents must be stored properly by everyone!
Plan ahead before the disaster for how you will respond during the Emergency Phase and during the Recovery Phase. Meet with your staff, rehearse and brainstorm what’s the worst thing that can happen and how can we overcome? Review semi-annually and also update perishable supplies, such as batteries.
To learn more about how to prepare your medical practice for a disaster, make plans to attend an upcoming Practice Management Intensive Training
AAMM: Practice Management Intensive Training
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