Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations ― A Letter Report

Guidelines given here are intended to assist federal, tribal, state, and local officials in the development of more uniform standards of care policies and protocols applicable in any disaster impacting public health, both naturally occurring and manmade, under conditions in which resources are scarce. The book supplies a set of five key elements of crisis standards of care protocols, and provides an ethical framework. Two case studies, a gradual-onset pandemic flu and an earthquake, illustrate the application of principles. Issues of community and provider engagement, such as education, communication, and legal issues, are also discussed. A glossary and an appendix of scenarios are included. The book will be useful to state and local public health officials, healthcare facilities, clinicians, and policymakers. Altevogt is affiliated with the Committee on Guidance for Establishing Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations, Institute of Medicine. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)