Ethical and Legal Challenges in Disaster Medicine
Ethical and Legal Challenges in Disaster Medicine
Many lessons were learned following Hurricane Katrina that can help all with disaster planning. The following are some of those lessons: hospitals should not be used as shelters; redundancy in communication systems and extra security are vital; water is essential (dig a well if necessary); all patients should be evacuated before the event, if possible; know before the event to which locations patients will be evacuated (sister hospital) and the means of transportation; electronic medical record access is necessary to care for all patients postevent; and disaster training for all hospital personnel is vital. Everyone needs to be proactive; do not depend on anyone else to tell you the disaster plan—get involved.
Conclusions
Many lessons were learned following Hurricane Katrina that can help all with disaster planning. The following are some of those lessons: hospitals should not be used as shelters; redundancy in communication systems and extra security are vital; water is essential (dig a well if necessary); all patients should be evacuated before the event, if possible; know before the event to which locations patients will be evacuated (sister hospital) and the means of transportation; electronic medical record access is necessary to care for all patients postevent; and disaster training for all hospital personnel is vital. Everyone needs to be proactive; do not depend on anyone else to tell you the disaster plan—get involved.