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Keeping Your Practice Healthy in the Aftermath of a Disaster

Disaster AftermathWithout question, one of the best ways to keep your practice healthy in the aftermath of a disaster is by being prepared. While no one ever really expects a disaster to strike, it is essential that physicians prepare their practices for all manner of unexpected events – ranging from the relatively small, like losing a laptop or thumb drive, to a catastrophic natural disaster. By having a firm plan in place, training your team about proper protocol, and having semi-regular drills to anticipate an emergency, you will find the path to recovery is smoother if a disaster does occur.

First and foremost, the priority of any physician is ensuring the safety of their patients, staff, and office visitors, and communication is key. To ensure that your office is ready for a disaster, it is essential that you perform an analysis that determines your preparedness for any manner of emergencies. Take the time to make a list of the potential disasters, and develop a response plan for each. These policies should be written out and made available to your staff, ensuring everyone knows how you’ll respond, if needed. It’s also important that specific roles (and backup roles) are assigned to the staff so everyone knows their job during a disaster and the team is always ready to deploy. This limits confusion, helps keep everyone safe, and ensures that business-critical materials, like computer hard drives or cash boxes, aren’t left behind.

It is also highly recommended that you make accommodations to ensure that you can safely access your data from a secondary location, in the event that your practice is compromised. Some examples of the information you’ll want to always have readily available include:

  • Updated patient records
  • Accounting records
  • Vendor contact information
  • An updated inventory of your office materials and equipment
  • And other electronically stored data that will benefit your practice

Once a disaster has been resolved, the process of recovery can begin. Assuming you’ve made arrangements to access your electronic data, you can work from just about anywhere. You’ll also want to be sure to have your office phone number auto-forwarded to a message that lets callers know the latest information about your practice.

At the American Board of Physician Specialties, we know how important it is for physicians to be ready to face a disaster head on, and we are pleased to be the only multi-specialty physician certifying board to offer board certification in disaster medicine to qualified physicians through the American Board of Disaster Medicine (ABODM). To learn more about disaster medicine and preparing your practice for the unexpected, contact us today.

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Patient Care Is Our Priority

Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine
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