Questions About Health Emergencies

¶ … New Continuity Manager What do you think is going on here? Business continuity planning and disaster recovery capability has become mandatory for all healthcare organizations in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1996, has as part of its phased implementation "Security Guidelines" (Coleman, 2016). The BHS campus undoubtedly has some form of this emergency plan. However, given the reaction by the administrator, to a recent risk that was identified, the current plan is most likely not comprehensive or possibly out-of-date.

What would be the best way to approach situation and risk assessment? The best way to approach a risk assessment is to focus on the scope and ask the right questions about what should be included. The DHHS, FDA, and ASHRM recommend that managers should conduct organization-specific risk analyses to determine potential risks.

The analysis should identify these key areas (The University of Scranton, N.d.): What could possibly happen? How likely is something to happen (measuring risk)? How severe will the outcome be if something did happen? How can the likelihood something will happen be mitigated on the forefront and to what degree? What can be done to reduce the impact (and to what degree)? What is the potential for exposure or what cannot be proactively avoided? Management should build a team with a broad perspective and identify the possible risks identification best practices.

How will each potential solution affect organizational culture? Risk planning and emergency responses need to be deeply embedded in the culture to be effective. The entire staff must not only familiarize themselves with the risk plan, but also be constantly scanning for potential risks or obstacles that might be present in the event a disaster occurs.

What kind of leadership is needed to bring about organizational change? Given the fact that the hospitals culture will likely have to change for the plan to be most effective, the transformational leadership model would most likely be the best candidate for the implementation of the plan. What are the various risks associated with the health care industry? In the Chicago area? The city of Chicago covers 228 square miles and has a population of approximately 3 million and its former mayor Richard M.

Daley has stated taht "No mayor can stand here and say that Chicago - or any other city in the world - will never have a terrorist attack," he notes, "but I can state that we have taken steps [since 9/11] that continue to make Chicago as safe as any city can be" (Smith, 2006). The city must not only prepare for terrorist attacks, but also natural disasters and other issues such as a pandemic influenza.

Discuss the main components of a continuity plan for the BHS campus? The components of the continuity plan must include all of the following general elements (Coleman, 2016) Mapping of critical business functions to specific computer applications. Mapping the computer applications to the platform technologies. Impact of the business cycles (quarter end, year-end) to contingency plans. Regular update and review of contingency plans. Clear statement of risk assumption. Definition of minimum acceptable level of service and detailed actions to get to that level.