The federal government should provide additional guidance and financial incentives to help the U.S. health care system prepare for catastrophic events involving mass casualties, according to a new report by the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC. Prepared for the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the report recommends that every hospital participate in a health care coalition that prepares and responds collaboratively to common medical disasters, and that HHS' Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) promulgate more detailed guidance on the organization and response roles of these coalitions. Among other actions, the report calls for HPP guidance on surge goals for health care coalitions, planning crisis standards of care and requirements for designating out-of-hospital triage sites.
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