Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
emergency- or contingency-staffing plan in
the event that personnel either are unable
or unwilling to report to work? Is the orga-
nization aware of state-specific laws and
regulations affecting personnel overtime or
extended shifts?
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17. How will the institution communicate to
those of its employees who were not at the
facility at the start of the crisis that they
should/should not try to report to the facility?
18. How will the institution handle bringing
personnel to the facility if the usual means of
access is interfered with by the event (e.g., a
blizzard or flood)?
19. How will the organization ensure the avail-
ability of contract or leased healthcare prac-
titioners (who may have relationships with
other institutions) during the emergency situ-
ation? Does the independent-contractor or
employee-leasing agreement(s) contemplate
alternative-staffing arrangements in the event
of an emergency? Do such agreements clearly
delineate what duties the organization can
require of contracted or leased employees
during an emergency situation?
20. How will documentation of employee and
contract healthcare practitioner overtime be
documented, and how will such personnel
records be protected?
21. How will the institution account for an
employee who could not get to work and/or
was not needed to respond (e.g., will the
time away from the individual count as paid
time off, or will her wages be docked)? What
labor agreements may influence the thinking
around this issue, and what do they say
about it?
22. How will the institution demobilize its
employees from their response?
23. Will some or all employees need to be
debriefed in the aftermath of the emergency
event?
24.
Is an evacuation plan in place? Does the evac-
uation plan involve movement to particular
sites? What assumption of liability does the
institution assume when effecting such an
evacuation?
B. Information Technology Infrastructure
and Software Applications
An organization's agreements relating to IT infras-
tructure and software applications should take into
account emergency-response needs.
1. Do the institution's software licenses specifi-
cally authorize the regular backup of relevant
software and the data, as well as the loading
of the software in test, backup, and disaster-
recovery environments to protect the applica-
tions and data?
2. What, if any, redundancy is built into the insti-
tution's IT infrastructure?
3. Has the choice of the location of the insti-
tution's data center taken into account issues
such as the age of the building's underlying
infrastructure, access to emergency generator
power, access to air conditioning, and related
concerns, as well as the critically of the appli-
cations to be run out of the center?
4. Will the IT emergency plan be effective in a
“minor” disaster (e.g., a cut power line or data-
center flood) that is not primarily or initially
an institution-wide issue?
5. Does the institution have in place disaster-
recovery sites and plans for its software appli-
cations?
a. Are its software applications and data
backed up on a regular basis?
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Note that state laws may limit mandatory overtime.
See, e.g.
, Wash. Rev. Code § 49.28.140 (2004). State laws may
also limit nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.
See, e.g.
, Cal Health & Safety Code § 1276.4 (2004);
see also
Accredita-
tion Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Common Program Requirements § VI (2003),
available at
www.acgme.org/DutyHours/dutyHoursCommonPR.pdf (last visited Sept. 25, 2004).
