Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter G.5 Recommended Action
Steps
•
Several recommendations for action related to
planning a health and medical care response to a
mass casualty event are identified below. The list
of recommendations is not meant to be compre-
hensive, but it provides a starting point for discus-
sion. These ideas suggest that a collaborative
approach should be taken when developing next
steps; both government and private organizations
have unique roles and important contributions to
make in moving forward.
Alternative ways to establish authority to move
to altered standards of health and medical care
in a mass casualty situation.
•
Alternative ways to ensure an adequate legal
framework, including liability, certification and
licensing, and mutual aid agreements for the
provision of health and medical care in a mass
casualty event.
•
Alternative ways to resolve issues of finance
and reimbursement issues related to the provi-
sion of health and medical care in a mass casu-
alty event.
Step 1: Develop general and
event-specific guidance for allocating
scarce health and medical care
resources during a mass casualty event.
Public and private organizations, including profes-
sional societies, should develop guidance in specific
areas related to allocating scarce clinical resources.
Examples include but are not
Step 3: Develop a comprehensive
strategy for risk communication with the
public before, during, and after a mass
casualty event.
Experts agreed that a unified strategy and tools for
public communication around mass casualty risk
and health and medical care response are indicated.
Part of the challenge is to craft credible messages
that the public will perceive as immediately rele-
vant and important to their daily lives without
causing undue alarm. Such a strategy should take
the form of anticipatory guidance. Messages should
be developed collaboratively with various stake-
holders (such as the American Hospital Associa-
tion, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of
Health Care Organizations, and others), that should
also participate in their dissemination.
Specific ideas and suggestions made regarding
public communication include but are not limited
to the following:
limited to the
following:
•
Triage guidelines and measures for specific
types of events.
•
Allocation guidelines for scarce resources, such
as ventilators, burn beds, or surgical suites.
•
Guidance for the triaging and treatment of chil-
dren, specifically the ways in which altered
standards of care might differ for a pediatric
population.
Step 2: Develop and implement a
process to address nonclinical issues
related to the delivery of health and
medical care during a mass-casualty
event.
Examples of non-clinical issues include but are not
limited to the following:
•
Continue and expand CDC training of jour-
nalists to cover health events as a means to
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