Citation

Burkle FM, Hsu EB, Loehr M, Christian MD, Markenson D, Rubinson L, Archer FL. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2007; 1(2): 135-141.

Affiliation

Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1097/DMP.0b013e3181583d66

PMID

18388641

Abstract

The incident command system provides an organizational structure at the agency, discipline, or jurisdiction level for effectively coordinating response and recovery efforts during most conventional disasters. This structure does not have the capacity or capability to manage the complexities of a large-scale health-related disaster, especially a pandemic, in which unprecedented decisions at every level (eg, surveillance, triage protocols, surge capacity, isolation, quarantine, health care staffing, deployment) are necessary to investigate, control, and prevent transmission of disease. Emerging concepts supporting a unified decision-making, coordination, and resource management system through a health-specific emergency operations center are addressed and the potential structure, function, roles, and responsibilities are described, including comparisons across countries with similar incident command systems.

Language: en