Emergency Preparedness in the Physician's Office Practice
Physician's office practice can include environmental and medical emergencies. It is recommended to perform a self-assessment, implement and review policies and procedures, train staff, and communicate and test plans for emergency preparedness. View the attached documents.
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Planning for Medical Emergencies in the Physician Office Practice
Medical emergencies are the most common event physician office practices should be prepared to respond to. Unfortunately, individuals may arrive who have underestimated the severity of their symptoms, there is no emergency room nearby or they lack the resources to go to the emergency room.
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Planning for Environmental Disasters/Emergencies in the Physician Office Practice
Environmental disasters/emergencies have the potential to disrupt services for extensive periods. These hazards may even require relocation to alternative locations. When completing the HVA, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when considering environmental hazards. Environmental disasters may not just be natural disasters such as tornados or hurricanes. They may also be gas leaks, explosions and failures of utilities such as electricity. Environmental disasters could also be man-made hazards such as bombs and bioterrorism. Possible scenarios can be numerous and it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Care should be taken to develop your organization’s response, contingency plan, communication plan and staff training for each likely scenario.
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Planning for Workplace Violence in the Physician Office Practice
OSHA reports that, in each year from 2011 to 2013, healthcare workers in the U.S. suffered 15,000 to 20,000 serious workplace violence-related injuries. Issues can arise for numerous reasons, but commonly involve disgruntled employees or domestic violence that spills over to the workplace from an employee or a patient/family member who is unhappy.