Risk Tip

It is easy to ignore the need to plan ahead for emergencies, but you are putting your patients and your staff at risk when there has been no preparation to handle these challenging events.

Chances are, upon close inspection of your offices, you will discover there are certain areas - whether it is equipment, supplies, or training - that could use improvements. While it is neither possible to anticipate every contingency nor practical and affordable to put every conceivable precautionary measure in place, it takes relatively little time and effort to predict the most likely problems and institute basic reaction plans.

Ask yourself the following questions: Are you and your staff ready to respond quickly and efficiently if a child collapses in your waiting room? What would you do if a patient undergoing a routine procedure went into cardiac arrest? When was the last time your office carried out a fire drill, or even discussed what to do in case of fire?

Untoward events take many different forms, but a uniform basic approach can be used to plan for all of them. Consider the following steps:

• Identify potential crises.
• Decide which to prepare for.
• Develop basic contingency plans.
• Procure needed resources.
• Train staff to carry out the plans and reinforce the training with periodic drills.

Always remember: If an unexpected event involves injuries to patients or staff members, the immediate priority and focus should be on clinically treating and emotionally supporting those individuals.