Basic Disaster Awareness
for Healthcare Providers

isasters follow no rules. No one can predict the complexity, time, or location of the next disaster. Traditionally, medical providers have held the erroneous belief that all disasters are different, especially those involving terrorism.

However, all disasters, regardless of etiology, have similar medical and public health consequences.

Disasters differ in the degree to which these consequences occur and the degree to which they disrupt the medical and public health infrastructure of the disaster scene.

The key principle of disaster care is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of patients, while the objective of conventional medical care is to do the greatest good for the individual patient.

Natural disasters, man-made disasters and terrorism encompass the spectrum of possible disaster threats. Terrorism, not surprisingly, is the most challenging for medical providers. Weapons of mass destruction, creating “contaminated environments” will be the greatest challenge of all.

A consistent approach to disasters, based on an understanding of their common features and the response expertise they require, is becoming the accepted practice throughout the world. This strategy is called the Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Response.