Louis is a recently hired HIM director in a community hospital in Vermont. While reviewing the risk assessment for his department, he is surprised to see that the potential threat of an extended power outage was not addressed. Recent years have brought severe ice storms to the northeastern US that have disrupted power for up to three weeks in some areas. Summer thunderstorms have also been known to wreak havoc on the power supply. This oversight is a big concern to Louis, who begins to develop contingency plans for his department. One of his major areas of focus is coding, as it will be imperative that accounts continue to be coded so reimbursement continues to flow. While his coding staff work remotely, most of them live within a 25-mile radius of the hospital and are likely to have the same power issues as the facility. Should extreme weather be the cause of an extended power outage, it is likely that most of the staff could report to the hospital once the initial event is over. Recommend the solutions and alternatives to become part of the contingency plan for this scenario. Be sure to include their benefits and limitations.
Remember that contingency plans are made to ensure critical business functions can withstand emergencies.
Contingency/disaster plan: Includes technical, procedural, and organizational components to follow after a loss. Includes
–Risk assessment and analysis
–Downtime and contingency planning
–Data backup
–Data recovery
–Emergency mode of operations