Unexpected things happen, well, unexpectedly. If you want the least amount of disruption and damage to your practice, drill for these unexpected occurrences. Here are some "fire drills" you may want to do in your office.
1: A fire drill: Do you know where the fire extinguisher is? Is the pin still in it? Has it been used already? To where does the 911 call get routed, an issue with VOIP. To find out, tell your staff you are going to have a fire drill and have one.
2: Computer crash drill: What are you going to do if your computers go down? Simulate it and find out. You'll be surprised regarding the strengths and weaknesses of your systems. What have you backed up and where? Do you know where key passwords are kept? Do you keep key phone numbers on paper. Can you run the office on paper for at least a short time?
3: Phone down drill: The phone is the life-line of the practice and being without one even for a few hours can kill. Does your phone system have back-up call forwarding? Can patients get through no matter what?
4: Patient collapse drill: With VOIP, 911 may, or may not, go to the nearest emergency station. Where does yours go? Try it out, just make sure you tell the operator it is a drill. Also, do have oxygen? An crash cart? Aspirin? Maybe you do or maybe you don't, but you should know what you have and where it is kept.
5: Angry patient drill: Unfortunately, some patients get angry and can make a scene in your office. very disruptive. Roll play different scenarios to figure what works for you and your office in a variety of situations.
That's it. Hope this may come in handy one day.
The IU.
