As Hurricane Matthew Threatens The East Coast, Who Are Patients Relying On If They Can't Reach Your Doctor?

Hurricane Matthew is in the headlines this week as the monster storm readies to make landfall. After the devastation it left behind in Haiti with deaths, power outages and flooding, many of us are only too familiar with storm preparation not just at our homes but our places of business. Just in the past few days we've been fielding dozens of calls from our clients all up and down the eastern seaboard along the storm's predicted path. 

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last 14 years or so it’s that disaster can strike at any time.

Although we’d like to think we’ll never see anything similar to the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 or Hurricane Sandy again, truth of the matter is we just don’t know. Bottom line is, anything can happen at any time.

Unfortunately, following the 9/11 attacks, Physicians First Messages was ground zero and, in turn, all of our doctors’ offices were left without an answering service.

The good news is, PFMI took extreme measures to upgrade our system following the 9/11 tragedy and, I’m happy to inform you, that when Super storm Sandy hit on Oct. 29, 2012, our company didn’t miss a beat in terms of providing our usual, reliable service.

So, what exactly did we do when we rebuilt our system?

Well, for starters, our system is now up on two separate, secure servers and our off-premise site has three generators.

Secondly, our system is hosted at an off-premise location and monitored by on-site staff at all times, day and night.

In addition, the phone company has direct lines into our off-premise hosted system.

You’ll also be happy to know that all of our employees can access the system regardless of their location.

Unfortunately, when Hurricane Sandy hit our shores, Physicians First Messages was once again ground zero. But despite the fact our main office was under 10 feet of water, not one of our doctors’ offices was affected. With the aforementioned precautions we took anticipating possible disaster, not one of our customers were without service for even a second when all the other answering services in the metropolitan area were down.

Even though Hurricane Matthew's predicted track is along the Atlantic coastline, none of us can know the impact it will have or what effect it will have on us. Preparing for the storm is always the safe and smart bet. Simply, nobody can predict when and if a disaster similar to 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy will hit our area again. But if it should, you need to receive messages pertaining to your practice with the same prompt and professional service. 

Physicians First Messages is here to remind you that you can rely on us to provide the service you expect in the face of disaster or not.

​We're ready to answer your call, even if you can't.  Above all, we ask you to stay safe!