Health care is a cornerstone of emergency response and national health security. Health care delivery systems that provide equitable access to efficient and effective routine care will be better able to support an effective response to and recovery from health incidents. Policies that ensure the capacity to rapidly expand the delivery of health care services at the most efficient level of safe and appropriate care must be an inherent component of health and medical care. When incidents happen, adapting to the unanticipated requires an integrated effort from all parts of the health care delivery system, and this integrated effort is strengthened by regular, day to day use. The challenges of crowding, cost, quality and access that health systems experience daily are a microcosm of what the broader system will experience when expected to surge to meet demand during an incident. Health care and emergency response systems must work better, and work better together, every day. Similarly, health and response systems are interdependent with public health systems – national health security is only possible if all of these are fully integrated.
ASPR has several responsibilities that support the goal of prepared health systems. The Federal Government provides and coordinates medical assistance to states and localities when requested during emergencies and disasters, and this assistance is a critical part of an integrated system. ASPR has a policy leadership responsibility to develop a collective national vision for improving the preparedness and integration of health care delivery systems, including emergency care systems, and also has several programs that help to operationalize and continuously improve this vision. Most notably, the Hospital Preparedness Program plays a fundamental role by providing funding to improve surge capacity and enhance community and health care system preparedness.
Strategies
- Cultivate and promote a shared national vision for improving the preparedness of the health care delivery system and ensure that this vision is adopted by
- Establishing a shared national approach with measures to track progress and support continuous improvement
- Promoting the planning for crisis standards of care
- Supporting providers, insurers, professional associations, and accreditation bodies in both the public and private sectors in developing incentives for health care preparedness
- Supporting local providers in capabilities development, coalition building, and other preparedness activities
- Enhance the resilience of healthcare systems through the Hospital Preparedness Program to deliver coordinated and effective care during public health emergencies and mass casualty events
- Promote a national vision for a patient- and community-centered emergency care system that is fully integrated into the overall health system, operates efficiently every day, and is capable of responding to public health and medical emergencies
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