Before you start
You need the Compliance Officer, Clinical Manager, Location Admin, or Organization Admin role.The cycle
Step 1 — Confirm the plan is ready
1
Check the plan exists and is approved
An unapproved plan is a draft. See Plans and procedures.
2
Verify the procedures name current staff
Procedures go stale faster than plans because they name people and phone numbers.
3
Check contingency agreements are unexpired
See Continuity.
4
Confirm the coordination team is current
Emergency roles are not reassigned automatically when staff change.
Step 2 — Schedule the drill
1
Add it to the drill calendar
Set quarter, date, and drill type. See Drills.
2
Assign a named facilitator
An unassigned drill tends not to happen.
3
Notify participants
With enough notice to attend.
4
Vary the timing occasionally
A drill always run mid-morning on a weekday tests the easiest possible conditions.
Step 3 — Run the drill
1
Follow the plan as written
Where the plan does not work, that is the finding — do not improvise past it.
2
Mark attendance for each participant
Attended drives the participation rate. An unmarked attendee counts as absent.
3
Record duration and summary
On the drill record.
4
Capture what actually happened
Including what took longer than expected.
Step 4 — Collect critiques
1
Collect from participants, not just the facilitator
Attendants who tried to reach members see problems coordinators do not.
2
Record each critique with its type
In Continuity.
3
Group them to find themes
A theme raised by several people is the real finding.
Step 5 — Assign follow-up
1
Set Follow-up on anything actionable
A critique without follow-up is a note, not an improvement.
2
Assign it to someone specific
Unassigned follow-up does not happen.
3
Close it before the next drill
Verify the follow-up actually happened.
Step 6 — Update the plan
1
Revise the plan and procedures
Reflect what the drill revealed.
2
Route for re-approval
A revised plan needs approving again.
3
Set the next drill date
Next Drill on the plan keeps the cycle running.
4
Open a QAPI initiative for recurring themes
A theme appearing at every drill needs measured improvement, not another critique. See
QAPI.
Also review annually
Some preparedness items sit outside the drill cycle but fail just as quietly:Drill cycle checklist
Next
Readiness
IT systems, weather, and compliance dates.
Maps
Find members in an affected area.