In response, health systems have been working very hard to build robust preparedness plans into their hospital strategy. However, the past year has emphasized the quick evolution of the healthcare industry—both in the challenges and triumphs that health systems will face in the future. In order to avoid falling behind, health systems must constantly evolve their strategy with the evolving industry. This includes regularly revisiting preparedness plans.
Whether it’s a natural disaster, terrorist attack or an infectious disease outbreak, large-scale events inevitably impact hospitals. While it is impossible to predict when a natural disaster will occur, we can recognize times of the year when specific natural disasters are more common. For example, as the Atlantic hurricane season gears up, many coastal health systems might need to adjust their disaster preparedness plans to equip themselves for potential increases in demand.
Our role in the supply chain has allowed us to watch how many healthcare organizations have prepared for a variety of emergencies over the years and the surge in demand for care that follows. Here, we share three best practices for revisiting your disaster preparedness plan that we’ve gathered from our own experience and from health system supply chain experts.
1. Update your plan regularly.
While a preparedness plan is essential for hospitals to maintain operations and serve as many patients as possible, it is also only the first step in your emergency preparedness response. Regularly updating your plan is critical in order to have a properly functioning disaster program in the long term.
Preparedness plans will look different for each health system, but one key consideration is the storage needed for additional medical supplies, especially the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required in a pandemic situation. As your update your preparedness plan for 2021, consider how your storage needs have evolved since the beginning of the pandemic. If you are still storing excess PPE in a stockpile, there is a chance that your volume might be less than it was in the height of the pandemic. If this is the case, you might be able to reduce the capacity of your stockpile, which could lead to cost savings and increased efficiency. Learn more about addressing your pandemic preparedness storage needs in this infographic.
Experts go even further to say health systems should consider holding monthly emergency preparedness team meetings with those responsible for organizing and executing responses during storms or other emergency events. For example, leaders from one health system shared in our digital publication, Cardinal Health Essential Insights, that they hold an annual live emergency drill mimicking a real catastrophic event, from a plane crash to a storm to a pandemic.2
2. Look for new areas to collaborate.
Regular education and training drills on infection control precautions can help prepare your staff to act quickly and efficiently in times of need, like an influenza outbreak.4 While the groundwork for this education is likely well established at your facility, especially in response to the pandemic, there might be increased opportunity to look outward for ways to collaborate one of your distributor or manufacturer partners. Many distributors and manufacturers have come up with creative solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, so there might be new and innovative ways for you to collaborate as you build out your preparedness plan.
For natural disasters, experts say organizations should be prepared to provide radios to emergency preparedness personnel so constant contact isn’t lost. Staff should also always keep their ID badges on them—both in and out of the hospital. With roads often closed and access restricted to the general public during emergencies, emergency and medical workers with identification can bypass roadblocks and other restrictions in order to get to work.2 Look for ways to collaborate with your city or district to align disaster preparedness plans.
3. Be a perpetual student
While each health system – or even each hospital – may require a unique approach to addressing its emergency preparedness needs, experts emphasized that the willingness to learn from mistakes and from others – and to make adjustments on the fly – are key to getting patients, staff, and the community safely through an emergency. Though it is possible to predict many emergencies, the specifics of how they will manifest can unfold differently each time – and each circumstance provides experience to learn from and help ensure healthcare providers and others can react more quickly and confidently in the future.
We have already learned many things from the pandemic, including the need for increased sourcing strategies, more visibility across the supply chain, and better coordination between manufacturers, distributors and healthcare facilities. As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into 2021, make sure to regularly revisit your disaster plan and incorporate these learnings.
For more supply chain insights and to access an infographic on key elements for pandemic preparedness storage planning, visit the Cardinal Health Supply Chain Center.
1 https://www.mgma.com/data/data-stories/many-health-leaders-report-they-have-an-emergency
2 https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/essential-insights/best-practices-learned-from-hurricane-irma.html
3 https://qz.com/1066787/hurricane-harvey-how-houston-hospitals-handled-the-storm/
4 https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/how-hospitals-can-prepare-for-an-influenza-pandemic/440696/
