Disasters can wreak havoc on communities at large, but hospitals and other treatment centers are particularly vulnerable. To ensure that such locations are ready for crises, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have put forward a rule that would require emergency preparations from healthcare providers, Mondaq reported.
The proposed CMS rule would apply to nearly 20 different varieties of organizations that take part in Medicaid and Medicare. The aim of these regulations is to facilitate the creation of procedures that will preserve the stability of care during disaster scenarios. Effective collaboration with local, regional, state, federal and tribal emergency networks is another goal of the rule.
The first notification about the new CMS preparedness regulations discloses details about the requirements that pertain to End Stage Renal Disease facilities. For instance, ESRD locations must institute policies and procedures on a number of preparedness subjects, create a communication plan and develop an emergency plan including risk assessment and response strategies.
ERSD communication preparation requirements entails the creation of a scheme for maintaining connections between personnel. Aspects of such a plan include a procedure for sharing secure health information in the midst and aftermath of a disaster and making patient and staff contact information available.
An emergency communication plan can benefit from an alert and notification system, such as uAlert from Omnilert. This platform allows speedy dissemination of crucial information in times of crises.