Planning for pandemic influenza is critical for ensuring a
sustainable healthcare response. The Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
have developed the following checklist to help medical offices and
ambulatory clinics assess and improve their preparedness for responding
to pandemic influenza. This checklist is modeled after a pandemic
preparedness checklist for hospitals and should be used in conjunction
with guidance on healthcare preparedness planning in Supplement 3 of the
HHS Pandemic Influenza Plan.
Many of the issues included in the
checklist are also relevant to other outpatient settings that provide
episodic and chronic healthcare services (e.g., dental, podiatric, and
chiropractic offices, ambulatory surgery centers, hemodialysis centers).
Given the variety of healthcare settings, individual medical offices
and clinics may need to adapt this checklist to meet their unique needs.
This
checklist identifies key areas for pandemic influenza planning. Medical
offices and clinics can use this tool to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of current planning efforts. Links to websites with
information are provided throughout the document. However, actively
seeking information that is available locally or at the state level will
be necessary to complete the development of the plan. Also, for some
elements of the plan (e.g., education and training programs),
information may not be immediately available and it will be necessary to
monitor selected websites for new and updated information.
For more information, visit: http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/medical.html
Other Resources
