The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule that establishes a consistent framework that mandates incorporation of best practices and lessons learned in emergency preparedness is enforceable as of Nov. 15, 2017, according to an article on the McKnight's website.
Medicare and Medicaid participating providers and suppliers are charged with evaluating their compliance posture for the four core elements of an Effective Emergency Preparedness Framework:
• Emergency plan
• Policies and procedures
• Communications plan
• Training and testing program
Establishing easily activated communication channels for reaching others both on and off-site is key to an emergency plan.
This is why it is critical to expand beyond the traditional means of sharing information among both internal and external constituents.