Lessons Learned From the Field of Emergency Preparedness: Slide Presentation

Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources (continued)

• Model framework utilized by Scarce Resource Allocation Committee.
• Encouraged local public health agencies to utilize the tool in their discussions with their local emergency planning committees.
• Utilized the mass medical care tool to inform discussions with representatives of the trial attorneys association.

Speaker Notes:

Even though our altered standards/scarce resource allocation committee had been meeting for about a year when the mass medical care with scarce resources document was issued by AHRQ, it was still a useful template/framework that, when brought to the committee, informed our discussion and planning efforts concerning mass care events.

In addition, we used the document in discussions that occurred with local public health agencies and local emergency planning councils to offer them a good template to spur discussion and planning that was going on at the local level concerning mass casualty events.

Missouri has been trying to pass liability-protection legislation for hospitals and health care practitioners who are called upon to implement altered standards of care. Our attempts over the last three legislative sessions have not been successful. Because of this, we met with representatives of the trial attorneys association this past summer and utilized information contained in the mass medical care document to inform our discussion. Because of their greater understanding of the issues the State would be facing in such an event, we believe we have reached a language compromise that hopefully will pass next session.