Violence in the office: six questions to help you prepare

The best ways to prevent a violent incident in your practice are to be observant, learn how to de-escalate potentially explosive situations, and have effective security protocols. But these strategies won’t prevent every violent encounter. In the event of an emergency, you and your colleagues will want to be prepared with clear policies and procedures for keeping you and your patients as safe as possible.

Every practice should develop an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that answers the following questions:

1. How do you report an active violent incident to the proper authorities? This may include calling 9-1-1 as well as notifying your facility’s security personnel and office manager.

2. When and how do you evacuate both staff and patients?

3. What are the primary and secondary escape routes?

4. What are the designated safe areas or “casualty collection points,” locations where the wounded can be triaged and provided first aid?

5. How do you lock down the office?

6. How do you make contact with emergency responders once they are on the scene?

Once you have an EOP, your office should regularly practice it using a variety of violent encounter scenarios.

Read the full FPM article: "How to Prepare for and Survive a Violent Patient Encounter."