{"id":4117,"date":"2012-06-07T10:40:56","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T14:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.carecloud.com\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2025-06-27T09:55:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T09:55:29","slug":"hurricane-preparedness-avoid-billing-service-abandonment-at-your-florida-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/hurricane-preparedness-avoid-billing-service-abandonment-at-your-florida-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Preparedness: Avoid Billing Service Abandonment at Your Florida Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hurricane season \u2013 again! It\u2019s been a few years since we\u2019ve had a major hurricane here in South Florida. Have you and your billing service been lulled back into a false sense of security?<\/strong> Because unless you heed the lessons learned from past disasters, your practice is one power-outage away from thousands of dollars in lost revenues.<\/p>\n

True story: Right after Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida<\/a> in October 2005, one Palm Beach County pediatrician was lucky enough to get his power back just a week after the storm (most of the tri-county area was in the dark for a full two weeks). But the building where his billing service was located had no power and the doors were sealed shut. So the doctor spent a week seeing patients amid chaos and confusion \u2013 with no support from his billing service and no real way to reach them.<\/p>\n

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Following Hurricane Wilma, amid the mess of downed trees and missing traffic lights, I spoke with doctors throughout South Florida who struggled with staff absences, computer troubles, nervous patients and their own personal issues. Unfortunately, many also struggled with their ill-prepared billing services<\/strong> or their sub-par server-based practice management software.<\/p>\n

In the years since Wilma, many practices have purchased electronic health records (EHRs), and many of these are Internet-based services. But no matter if your vendor is large or small, local or national unless the company has a well-rehearsed disaster plan, your service could be interrupted following the next storm.<\/p>\n

Lessons Learned
\n<\/strong>There will be another hurricane like Wilma, though hopefully not for a long time. Your practice\u2019s goals following the next storm are clear:<\/p>\n