Disaster Planning

Jeni Flechler
Health Record
Module 7, Assignment #4

What is Disaster Recovery

Planning?
According to Farenholz & Russo, disaster

recovery planning is the technological aspect

of business continuity planning (2013).
In the event of a natural disaster, such as a
hurricane, tornado, or earthquake, healthcare
facilities must be able to access information
during system downtime or unavailability.

Health Record Storage and

Retrieval
Some questions that are considered as part of the disaster recovery
plan are:
Are microfilm, magnetic media and optical disks stored in appropriate
environments?
Are smoking laws in full compliance in areas where paper or
chemicals are stored?
Are boxes or other containers of records 12" to 14" off the floors
(perhaps on pallets) even during initial processing activities?
Are chemicals, including those used by custodian and in office
machines, stored in a manner to avoid or minimize disaster?
Are electrical appliances (i.e., coffee pots and other high heat
producing items) turned off at the end of the day?
Should such appliances even be in an area used to house records?
Are proper security measures taken for the safety of the entire
facility's contents? (University of Missouri, 2016).

Three Steps
According to Patrice Spath, there are three

steps to develop and maintain a disaster

recovery plan: gather information, formulate
and test the plan, and plan maintenance
(2007).

Gather Information
The first step to complete is to put together a disaster team. This head

will be headed up by the HIM department director and will also include
other healthcare professions who are involved in patient care and
business processes.
Next, the team will need to complete an impact assessment. Questions
to be answered include:
What are the most critical information functions or systems in my

unit/department?
Are these paper-based or electronic systems?
Which of these systems are most critical to patient care? to business
processes?
What would be the impact if these systems were severely interrupted?

Next, conduct a disaster risk assessment. Determine what type of

disasters pose a potential risk to the facility.

Next, develop a recovery strategy to determine how to operate during
severe disruption of services (Spath, 2007).

Formulate and Test the

Plan

Once all of the possible risks and recovery plans have been

determined and discussed, you will need to write the

emergency preparedness plan.
This plan should be contained in a notebook that is kept at
the facility, employees homes, and at any off-site data
storage facility.
It should include information on the current environment, recovery

environment, and action plans to follow at time of disaster.

The plan should be tested thoroughly before an actual

disaster occurs to ensure that everyone in organization has

a chance to practice their responsibilities. This will also
reveal any opportunities for improvement.
This can be done through creation of sample scenarios (Spath, 2016).

Plan Maintenance
Plan maintenance of a disaster recovery plan

is crucial to the success of the plan and

facility.
Maintenance should be completed on a
regular basis to ensure that any updates or
changes are reflected in the plan. Changes or
updates not included in the plan can hinder
the treatment of patients in critical moments
(Spath, 2016).

Works Cited
Farenholz, C. & Russo, R. (2013). Documentation for

health records. Chicago, IL: AmericanHealth Information

Management Association.
Spath, P. L. (2007, May 14). Ready for an Emergency?
Dont Wait to Find Out. Retrieved October 5, 2016, from
For the Record: http://
www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/ftr_051420
07p20.shtml
The Curators of the University of Missouri. (2016). What is
a Disaster Prevention Plan? Retrieved October 5, 2016,
from University of Missouri System:
https://
www.umsystem.edu/ums/fa/management/rec
ords/disaster-guide-prevention