New App Will Streamline Health Care Emergency Plans
With PREP app, HAPevolve helps health care facilities improve emergency preparedness, communications
HARRISBURG, PA (February 20)—When an emergency happens, every second counts, especially in health care settings. Health care facilities need an up-to-date emergency preparedness plan and the ability to let patients, visitors, and staff know what to do.
Most facilities update their plans using paper and ink, a two-thousand year old technology, failing to keep up with a digital world. To solve this problem HAPevolve, a subsidiary company of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) has launched a new tool to help health care facilities streamline emergency preparedness.
HAPevolve’s new tool, the Portable Response Emergency Plan (PREP), moves paper emergency operation plans out of a three-ring binder and into a mobile, web-based, customizable solution. This gives staff immediate access to policies and procedures in preparation for and in response to an emergency incident. A health care facility manager or designated staff member is able to use the web platform to upload facility plans and documents, manage users, and distribute the content within seconds.
“We always hope emergencies like fires or severe weather events never happen, but when they do, we turn to our emergency operation plans for vital information to coordinate a rapid response. One of the major difficulties with paper emergency operation plans is making sure that every staff member has access to the most up-to-date copy,” said HAPevolve President Joe Tibbs.
“This single change to an organization’s emergency plan could save hours of administrative time, provide the most up-to-date information in the palm of everyone’s hand, and help staff members respond quicker.”
Health care providers are vital resources for a community and region’s overall emergency preparedness strategy. Hospitals, health systems, and other health care providers often expend significant time and resources in ensuring they have the appropriate materials, plans and training to react in the event of an emergency. Regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, state Departments of Health, and local municipality fire or emergency management departments regulate and require health care providers to have robust emergency plans in place, and to ensure staff has access and training about these plans.
PREP will help health care facilities remain compliant with regulations and streamline health care provider emergency response.
HAPevolve is the exclusive health care distributor for PREP, which is available for iPhone and Android devices.