Because natural and manmade disasters can occur at any time, individuals, communities, and governments must be prepared. RAND has developed guidelines for individual preparedness in response to terrorist attacks; evaluated, modeled, and enhanced preparedness policy options for government officials at all levels; and recommended actions that communities should take to prepare for bioterrorist attacks, pandemic flu outbreaks, and other large-scale emergencies.
In the age of austerity, Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) provision is now the focus of policymakers' efficiency drives.
About 37% of ED visits were for nonurgent conditions. Patients using EDs inappropriately tended to be younger, found EDs more convenient, had an ED referral by a physician, or had negative perceptions about providers who might be alternatives to ED care.
The after action report/improvement plan (AAR/IP) can be useful for both accountability and quality improvement, but these objectives require different foci and methodological approaches.
We analyze published evidence on strategies to optimize the management and allocation of scarce resources across a wide range of mass casualty event contexts and study designs.
This commentary explores the reasons why Boston's emergency response to the Marathon bombings was so effective and draws implications for other cities' preparedness efforts.
Creating a sound security plan involves understanding not only security requirements but also the dynamics of the marketplace, employee issues, and management goals.
Federal support for health security research is heavily weighted toward preparing for bioterrorism and other biological threats, providing significantly less funding for challenges such as monster storms or attacks with conventional bombs.
A fundamental tenet of preparedness for public health emergencies is the reliance on systems that rest on a bedrock of day-to-day use.
The report describes the results of the first year of pilot data for medical countermeasure drills conducted by 72 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).
Ambulance diversions disproportionately affect minority patients.
Trust contributes to community resilience by the critical influence it has on the community's responses to public health recommendations before, during, and after disasters.
Despite extensive messaging about the importance of citizen preparedness and countless household surveys purporting to track the preparedness activities of individuals and households, the role individual Americans are being asked to play is largely based on conventional wisdom.
This editorial examines the performance of urban search and rescue teams that responded to major earthquake disasters in Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan over the last decade.
Treatment of stroke patients is highly time-sensitive. The risk of death or disability caused by intracranial hemorrhage may increase with both stroke size and time.
Attempts by states to save money by seeking to lock Medicaid enrollees out of the emergency department are likely to backfire.
Community resilience (CR) is emerging as a major public policy priority within disaster management and is one of two key pillars of the Dec. 2009 US National Health Security Strategy.
Describes the importance of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), and identifies common strengths and potential vulnerabilities of laboratory-specific COOPs.
Emergency medicine is poised as a specialty to respond to health care changes and to lead the charge in transforming a disconnected, inefficient, and costly system.
Describes commercially available products and services designed to convey personal health information in emergencies.
A hospital Emergency Department's(ED's) wait times can be driven by high occupancy in its downstream InPatient hospital (IP).
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