Free printable template · PDF
Emergency Action Plan for Medical Offices
A fill-in emergency action plan with a section for each element OSHA requires: how to report an emergency, how to evacuate, how to account for everyone, who does what, and who to ask. It adds the part most templates leave out: getting patients out safely, including someone mid-treatment.
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Emergency Action Plan for Medical Offices
MedSpaBinder
Clinic and address
Plan contact (name, title)
Effective date
Covers the minimum elements of 29 CFR 1910.38(c). With 10 or fewer employees the plan may be communicated orally.
1. Reporting an emergency
Call 911 for fire, medical or security emergencies
Then notify (name, phone)
Alarm: how staff are alerted (pull station, PA, verbal)
Fire alarm pull stations are at
2. Evacuation
Type: full evacuation or shelter in place for
Primary exit route
Secondary exit route
Assembly point outside
Patients: who brings them out, including anyone mid-treatment or unable to walk
3. Shutting down before leaving (only if safe)
Lasers and devices: switched to standby / key removed by
Oxygen: tank valves closed by
4. Accounting for everyone
Headcount taken by (use today's schedule and staff list)
Report missing people to
5. Rescue and medical duties, and evacuation helpers
6. For more information about this plan, ask
Name or job title
Phone / email
Plan reviewed with each employee (at hire, when their role changes, when the plan changes)
Approved by: ______________________ Date: ____________ Next review: ____________
Does a medical office need an emergency action plan?
OSHA requires an emergency action plan whenever another OSHA standard calls for one. The most common trigger is fire safety: if your policy is for everyone to evacuate rather than fight a fire with extinguishers, OSHA expects an emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan. In practice most clinics keep one, and fire marshals, landlords and accrediting bodies often ask for it.
With 10 or fewer employees, the plan can be communicated orally instead of in writing. A written plan is still the easiest way to show an inspector that it exists and that staff know it.
What OSHA requires the plan to include
- Procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency.
- Procedures for emergency evacuation, including the type of evacuation and exit route assignments.
- Procedures for employees who stay to operate critical operations before they evacuate.
- Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation.
- Procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties.
- The name or job title of every employee who can be contacted for more information about the plan.
Also required
- An employee alarm system with a distinctive signal.
- Designated employees trained to help others evacuate safely.
- A review of the plan with each employee when it's written or they're first assigned, when their responsibilities under it change, and when the plan changes. The sign-off table on the last page records this.
Questions
How is a clinic's plan different from an office plan?
Patients. Someone may be mid-treatment, numb, sedated or unable to walk, and lasers and oxygen may be in use. The plan should say who brings each patient out, and who makes devices and oxygen safe if there's time.
How often should we practise the plan?
OSHA requires the plan to be reviewed with employees at the points listed above; it doesn't set a drill frequency for most workplaces. Many clinics walk the exit routes once a year, often when they review their other safety plans.
Sources
General guidance, not legal or medical advice. Requirements vary by state; follow your medical director and product labels.