[Managing your physician's office during an influenza pandemic--should you or can you prepare yourself?]

Experts as well as national and international public health organizations or government agencies are agreeing on their prognosis that an influenza pandemic is likely to occur in the near future. As the majority of patients will need to be treated as outpatients, physicians in primary care will play an essential role in dealing with the health impact of such a pandemic in Switzerland. It will be necessary, that patients with influenza-like illnesses will be diagnosed and treated in a standardized fashion during this pandemic. The influenza pandemic preparedness plan of the federal office of public health provides important information in that regard. In addition to the standardized clinical management of patients, the implementation of infection control measures in the physician's office will also be of major importance. The goal of these infection control measures is to protect other patients from contracting influenza while visiting the physician's office. Furthermore, healthcare workers as well as the owner of the physician's office must be protected. Infection control measures include the antiviral prophylaxis with oseltamivir during the duration of the pandemic, the use of appropriate face masks to prevent droplet transmission during patient contact and the targeted use of disinfection to prevent contact transmission of the influenza virus in the office of the general practitioner In order to implement both clinical and infection control measures during this predictable hectic time of the pandemic, it is advisable to prepare some of these measures in advance.