Medical practices in the Texas Gulf Coast had an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of their hurricane disaster plans when Hurricane Harvey hit the state on August 25, 2017. Unfortunately, many Texas practices discovered that their plans and preparations did not adequately guide them through the ordeal of the storm’s aftermath. This paper reports on the experiences of a diverse group of medical practice administrators in the Corpus Christi, Texas, area. Interviewed approximately 10 months after the hurricane, all practice administrators recognized that their practices’ current hurricane plans need at least some modification. All respondents indicated a need to improve communication with staff, patients, and other constituents. Other recommendations involved data storage, insurance coverage review, inventory tracking, availability of temporary accommodations, and facility restoration services. A few respondents indicated a desire to create more detailed disaster planning documents in which the occurrence of predetermined “trigger points” would automatically evoke appropriate action to take. Several detailed disaster planning documents were suggested as possible resources for practice administrators to consider.
