Tabletop exercises to improve business continuity plans in hospital pharmacies: A prospective interventional study
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_1259EA89A220
Type
Inproceedings: an article in a conference proceedings.
Publication sub-type
Poster: Summary – with images – on one page of the results of a researche project. The summaries of the poster must be entered in "Abstract" and not "Poster".
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Tabletop exercises to improve business continuity plans in hospital pharmacies: A prospective interventional study
Title of the conference
Gesellschaft schweizerischer Amt- und Spitalapotheker (GSASA)-Kongress
Address
Basel, Switzerland, November 27-29, 2024
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2024
Language
english
Abstract
Ensuring the continuity of essential operations is crucial in preparing for crisis in any organization. This can be managed through business continuity plans (BCPs). Disaster simulation tabletop (TTX) and full-scale (FSX) exercises enable to adapt and test crisis plans, including BCPs. They are used in various pharmacy contexts, but data are lacking regarding the impact of TTX to directly enhance hospital pharmacies (HPs) BCPs.
A two-phases, pre-post intervention study among Swiss HPs was conducted. The main objective was to assess the impact of TTX on BCPs’ quality and content in HPs. The secondary objective was to assess the impact of BPCs’ score on the concrete response to a crisis scenario through FSX.
Phase 1: baseline BCPs assessment followed by a 120 minutes TTX for HPs’ managers about nationwide electricity shortages. Participants were asked to identify problems which would occur during this situation as well as solutions to respond to the event and to ensure continuity of critical activities. Phase 2 nine months later: second BCPs assessment followed by a 180 minutes FSX about a cyberattack on hospital to test HPs’ teams’ response. BCPs were evaluated using an ad hoc 1 to 5 Likert-scale grid built from literature. Exercises ended with a debriefing followed by a written report. Satisfaction was measured with a questionnaire. All scenarios and exercises have been validated in a test HP.
Five HPs were included. Differences in BCPs before and after TTX were measured. Rate of items observed in BCPs raised from 47.9% to 54.2% (p<0.05). Mean overall BCPs score increased by 8.6%, from 1.74±0.15 to 1.89±0.16 (p<0.05). When considering only present items, mean BCPs score did not increase (2.50±0.30 to 2.58±0.32 (p=0.31)). According to “4Rs” concept, aspects relating to risk reduction or response have been improved more than risk readiness or recovery. HPs with best BCPs’ score seemed to have best FSX response. Satisfaction was high and comparable for both exercises.
TTX can enhance HPs’ BCPs, but it seems necessary to reinforce this impact with complementary simulations, thus strengthening preparedness. Further studies are planned to determine the required content of HPs’ BCPs.
A two-phases, pre-post intervention study among Swiss HPs was conducted. The main objective was to assess the impact of TTX on BCPs’ quality and content in HPs. The secondary objective was to assess the impact of BPCs’ score on the concrete response to a crisis scenario through FSX.
Phase 1: baseline BCPs assessment followed by a 120 minutes TTX for HPs’ managers about nationwide electricity shortages. Participants were asked to identify problems which would occur during this situation as well as solutions to respond to the event and to ensure continuity of critical activities. Phase 2 nine months later: second BCPs assessment followed by a 180 minutes FSX about a cyberattack on hospital to test HPs’ teams’ response. BCPs were evaluated using an ad hoc 1 to 5 Likert-scale grid built from literature. Exercises ended with a debriefing followed by a written report. Satisfaction was measured with a questionnaire. All scenarios and exercises have been validated in a test HP.
Five HPs were included. Differences in BCPs before and after TTX were measured. Rate of items observed in BCPs raised from 47.9% to 54.2% (p<0.05). Mean overall BCPs score increased by 8.6%, from 1.74±0.15 to 1.89±0.16 (p<0.05). When considering only present items, mean BCPs score did not increase (2.50±0.30 to 2.58±0.32 (p=0.31)). According to “4Rs” concept, aspects relating to risk reduction or response have been improved more than risk readiness or recovery. HPs with best BCPs’ score seemed to have best FSX response. Satisfaction was high and comparable for both exercises.
TTX can enhance HPs’ BCPs, but it seems necessary to reinforce this impact with complementary simulations, thus strengthening preparedness. Further studies are planned to determine the required content of HPs’ BCPs.
Create date
20/01/2025 12:27
Last modification date
21/01/2025 7:13