preparedness – Beyond the Bite

By Julie Brightwell, JD, RN, Director, Healthcare System Patient Safety, The Doctors Company

Recently, hurricanes, floods and fires nationwide have highlighted the importance of planning for disasters. Hurricane and flood damage in Texas and Florida left practices without power for days or even weeks. Wildfires in California forced several dentists to quickly relocate their practices ― some permanently ― and to move scheduled procedures to different facilities. Is your practice prepared for this type of situation?

A disaster can overwhelm a dental practice, with damage that can include shattered windows, flood debris, power outages, disrupted telephone systems, computer and system outages, unsafe drinking water, destroyed dental records, medication exposure to temperature and humidity extremes, contaminated instruments and building structure failure.

Disaster preparedness requires a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, rehearsing and evaluating. Dentists are critical participants in disaster preparedness, ensuring that patient care and critical services are not interrupted.

Plan Ahead Now
Before the next disaster strikes, make sure your practice has a plan in place. A checklist, ordered by priority and customized to specific types of disasters, can provide the framework for a comprehensive plan. The checklist should include these elements:

A full-circle call tree that outlines who contacts whom.
Instructions for setting up instant messaging technology that enables staff to communicate without a wireless network or cellular data connection.
A Certificate of Insurance for your dental malpractice coverage, or instructions for contacting your agent or insurer directly to obtain proof of coverage. This document will be necessary if you are forced to temporarily relocate your practice or procedures.
Steps to follow upon returning from evacuation.

When Disaster Strikes
Planning today makes accomplishing the following tasks more feasible during a disaster:

Communication

Contact staff immediately to determine realistic time frames to return to work.
Notify external vendors and business associates of your practice interruption and targeted resumption of operation.
Implement staff briefings at the beginning and end of each day.
Create temporary phone, fax and answering services.
Establish patient telephone triage.
Implement temporary controls to ensure HIPAA compliance.

Computers and systems

Contact computer service vendors to ensure integrity and recovery.
Verify insurance coverage for repair or replacement costs and losses.
Evaluate applicable warranties and consider an information technology restoration service contract.
Inventory and document hardware and software.
Document the type and extent of both lost electronic and paper data.
Ensure data backup and periodically test compliance.
Re-establish filing systems and internal programs.

Dental records

Determine the extent of damage to, or loss of, patient records and filing systems.
Attempt to restore all damaged charts and document inventory findings.
Notify the state dental board for specific guidance pertaining to lost or damaged records.
Document all efforts to restore and protect existing records.
Reconstruct lost charts at the next patient encounter.
Contact your insurance carrier for restorative services and/or claim procedures.
Re-establish a filing system and temporary storage if necessary.
Obtain legal guidance for patient notification during recovery efforts.
Contemporaneously date and initial all late entries and duplicate information in context of recovery efforts.

In addition, create an inventory of all equipment and medications that may have been exposed to water or extremes in temperature. Repair, replace or discard damaged items appropriately.

Once your plan is in place, regularly re-evaluate its steps and update all contact information. Practice and rehearse the plan’s protocols. An effective disaster preparedness plan will help keep your practice focused on delivering care during an emergency.

The guidelines suggested here are not rules, do not constitute legal advice and do not ensure a successful outcome. The ultimate decision regarding the appropriateness of any treatment must be made by each health care provider in light of all circumstances prevailing in the individual situation and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the care is rendered.

By Carrie Millar, MBA, CAE, FDA Services Agency Manager

Life in sunny Florida can have many benefits; relatively warm weather year-round and access to beautiful beaches are just two upsides of living and practicing in this state. However, there also are some downsides, the worst being hurricanes. These destructive, swirling storms come barreling toward the peninsula almost every year and, although storms can vary in intensity, they always bring some sort of damage with them.

Is your practice prepared to handle the chaos that comes after a big storm? In a state where hurricanes are a normal part of life, it’s vital to have a hurricane/crisis plan ready for your practice in the event of an emergency. Not every plan is the same, but there are several hallmarks of an ideal strategy to keep in mind while crafting your readiness plan.

Decide when your practice will close and reopen.
Will your closing coincide with county schools and/or other government entities? Have a policy in place and be sure that both your employees and patients are aware of that policy.

Notify patients and staff if you need to close/reopen.
Keep updated emergency contact lists and create a notification system that can be used in any emergency scenario.

Make sure your practice can afford a couple days of closure.
Keep an emergency fund to help your practice survive in case you need to be closed for several days after a storm hits. Business income insurance and off-premises power failure coverage also will help with the costs, but they often have a 72-hour waiting period.

Protect your data!
Back up your practice’s data regularly and keep important documents in a weatherproof safe. Also, keep copies of important records, such as employee, vendor and client contact information, collected and backed up at a secure off-site location.

Update your inventory list.
Make sure you have an updated list of all the major assets in your practice, or even better, take a video of all the items. This is a great way to make sure you can account for all items in the event of a loss.

Make sure you’re covered!
Communicate annually with your insurance agent to review your coverage details. Ask about any additional coverage that may be right for your practice. Being prepared can make a difference.

Key Coverages to Have for Hurricane Season

1. Wind/Hail Coverage: Make sure that your policy has coverage for physical damage caused from wind; often there is a separate deductible for this coverage.

2. Business Income and Extra Expense: This coverage pays for your practice’s missed income when there is physical damage to your building. It also pays for temporary office space in the event of a larger damage amount.

3. Off-premises Power/Utility Services: In the event that you do not have any physical damage, you may still have to close your practice because of interruption of communication, power or water services. This coverage will help recoup some of that lost income.

4. Flood Insurance: We recommend that all business owners consider purchasing this coverage to have complete coverage for any water damage. While wind driven rain is covered by wind insurance, rising water is not.

Make sure to read the new hurricane insurance guide developed by FDA Services for the 2016 hurricane season, “Hurricane Proof: 2016 Practice Readiness Guide.”

This article was prepared by FDA Services. FDA Services’ experienced staff is ready to get to work for you. If you feel you need a review of your current insurance policies, call us at 800.877.7597 or email insurance@fdaservices.com.

Tag: preparedness

Disaster Preparedness for Your Dental Practice

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