Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Sufficiency of Care
Sophisticated
care done in
hospitals
Move out of
circle
as needed
Sufficiency of Care
Standard
of Care
Modular care
Less
sophisticated
care done in
“surge
hospitals”
Move back
as quickly
as possible
Hard sided portable
buildings
Tent Hospital
Figure H.1
Standard of care vs. sufficiency of care. The concept of sufficiency of care—medical care that may not be of the same
quality as that delivered under nonemergency conditions, but is sufficient for need—is often the reality of surge hospitals because of
the difficult circumstances in which care is provided.
ideal level of care. Again, this is what occurred at
the empty former retail store site, which remained
open for only five days.
The veterinary hospital in College Station,
Texas, was able to deliver a higher quality of care
because, although it was intended for use as an
animal hospital, it contained most of the equipment
and supplies necessary to treat human patients. In
addition, electrical power, the water supply, and
the telephone system were all in working order and
it had backup power systems, access to medical
gases, and a high standard of cleanliness.
Any plan for a surge hospital that is envisioned
as a sufficiency-of-care site should be part of a
community response network. This way, all inva-
sive procedures, deliveries, or surgical needs can
be transferred to a standard-of-care-based hospital
unless emergent intervention is needed to save
a life. To handle such emergent cases, advanced
airway equipment, ventilator support, portable dial-
ysis units, and monitoring capabilities should be
available on site.
Legal and reimbursement issues
Anytime health care workers perform volunteer
services, they expose themselves to the risk of
having claims filed against them by patients who
believe they have been harmed during the delivery
of care. The state and federal governments have
methods by which the law can be changed to
provide some liability protection. During the crisis
in the Gulf Coast, for example, the governor of
Louisiana waived the state of Louisiana licensing
restrictions to allow access to all licensed providers
throughout the U.S. The federal government also
set aside certain national laws so that health care
workers responding in an emergency could act as
their professional judgment dictated while deliv-
ering care without fear of medical liability. For
