Emergency Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness – Are you ready

Are You Prepared?

Here comes Ian, expecting to hit Florida soon. Use this as a wake-up call to review your own emergency preparedness.

Many of you have recently experienced natural disasters. Be it hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, or fires, being prepared counts when it matters most.

Those of us in the healthcare profession have more to consider in the event of a disaster. Not only do we have to be prepared for ourselves and our loved ones, but many of us have a responsibility to the community. In fact, HIPAA requires that you have a documented emergency plan of operations for your facility.

What contingency plans do you have in place to operate, or not, in a disaster? Part of your security risk assessment should include an evaluation of what natural disasters you are likely to encounter in your area, and you need a policy that dictates what your plans are going to be. In a fire, can you save your critical data? How about your patient scans and images that aren't digital? You should also maintain a list of emergency contacts - the CDC, local fire, police, and whoever would be proper for your situation.

When you get home this evening, do this one, simple thing. Walk through your home, phone in hand, and take a video of everything in your home. Sync that video with your cloud storage, done! Less than 5 minutes. It's literally that easy. If you want to take it a step further, create your own emergency plan of operations for your home and family.

Here are some resources that can help:
Red Cross Preparedness Checklist
Ready.gov Checklist
FEMA Emergency Tools

HIPAA Security Reminders

 

HIPAA Security Suite has developed a weekly HIPAA Security Reminder series that’s FREE for all of us who are responsible for, or engaged in, the use and protection of PHI.

Pursuant to Section 164.308(a)(5) of the HIPAA Security Rule, the Standard states: Implement a security awareness and training program for all members of its workforce (including management).

This standard is part of our Best Practices Recommendations for HIPAA Security Suite users, but it’s available for FREE to anyone who wants to comply with HIPAA using the easiest, best tools available.

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