International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety Foundation (IAHSS) has released guidelines that urge healthcare facilities to establish a process and multidisciplinary team to identify, assess, validate, mitigate, and respond to threats of violence or other behaviors of concern, according to an article on the HCPro website.
The multidisciplinary threat management team should identify threats and determine their seriousness and severity.
The IAHSS guideline suggests facilities develop a threat management program “that is informed by data and research in this area.”
To do so, IAHSS says that healthcare facilities should designate individuals who are responsible for educating staff and promoting the reporting of threats; assessing all reports of concerning behavior; implementing timely response plans; and advocating for victims and offering support and counseling if needed.