Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T05:05:43.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Interdisciplinary Information for Infectious Disease Response: Exercising for Improved Medical/Public Health Communication and Collaboration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2020

Saskia Popescu
Affiliation:
Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Nathan Myers*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Nathan Myers, Indiana State University, Political Science, 200 N. 7th St., Holmstedt Hall 308, Terre Haute, Indiana, 47834 (e-mail: nathan.myers@indstate.edu).

Abstract

Infectious disease threats like the novel coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 continue to demand an increase in preparedness and response capabilities. One capability that is both essential and consistently challenging is information sharing between responding organizations, particularly between public health agencies and health care providers. This policy analysis reviews the threat that infectious diseases continue to pose to the United States, and the role that the Hospital Preparedness Program can play in countering such threats. Current strategies for preparing for, and responding to, infectious disease outbreaks are also reviewed, noting some gaps that need to be addressed. Particular attention is given to challenges in information sharing that continue to hinder effective surveillance and response, despite advances in technology. The study looks at recommendations from biodefense organizations and experts in the field. It concludes with our recommendation that regulatory requirements and funding opportunities for health care institutions emphasize the importance of communication and training in relation to high consequence pathogens. We further recommend that providers in Ebola treatment hospitals be employed to train and educate providers in frontline hospitals in a ‘train-the-trainer’ model.

Type
Policy Analysis
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National pandemic influenza plans. 2017.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/planning-preparedness/national-strategy-planning.html. Accessed April 2, 2020.Google Scholar
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Emergency preparedness rule. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertEmergPrep/Emergency-Prep-Rule.html. Updated January 20, 2017. Accessed February 2, 2017.Google Scholar
Johnson, SR. How a children’s hospital handled a measles outbreak. Modern Healthcare. https://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20171230/NEWS/171239999/how-a-children-s-hospital-handled-a-measles-outbreak. Updated December 30, 2017. Accessed April 2, 2020.Google Scholar
San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Hepatitis: An outbreak-after-action report, 2018.https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/cosd/SanDiegoHepatitisAOutbreak-2017-18-AfterActionReport.pdf. Updated May, 2018. Accessed April 2, 2020.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary of the 2017-2018 influenza season. 2019.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm. Accessed April 2, 2020.Google Scholar
ASPR TRACIE, US Department of Health and Human Services. Novel coronavirus resources: 2020. https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/COVID-19. Accessed April 2, 2020.Google Scholar
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. 2017-2022 Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement. 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/readiness/00_docs/PHEP-Funding-CDC-RFA-TP17-1701.pdf. Accessed April 17, 2020.Google Scholar
Office of the Assistant Secretary Preparedness and Response. 2017-2022 Health Care preparedness and response capabilities: 2016;53-54.https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/2017-2022-healthcare-pr-capablities.pdf. Accessed April 18, 2020.Google Scholar
Watson, C, Watson, M, Gastfriend, D, KirkSell, T. Federal funding for health security in FY2019. Health Security. 2018;16(5):281-303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mamuji, AA, Etkin, D. Disaster risk analysis part 2: The systemic underestimation of risk. JHSEM. 2017;(16)1. doi:https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2017-0006.Google Scholar
Scutti, S. World Health Organization gets ready for Disease X. https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/12/health/disease-x-blueprint-who/index.html. Updated March, 12 2018. Accessed November 13, 2018.Google Scholar
Herstein, JJ, Paul, DB, Colleen, SK, et al. Initial costs of Ebola treatment centers in the United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016;22(2):350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. 2017-2022 Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) Performance Measures Implementation Guide: 2016. https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/hpp-pmi-guidance-2017.pdf. Accessed April 17, 2020.Google Scholar
ASPR TRACIE, US Department of Health and Human Services. Emergency Operations Plans/Emergency Management Program. https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/technical-resources/84/emncy-operations-plans-emncy-management-program/1. Accessed April 3, 2020.Google Scholar
Bergero, L. Joint Commission Emergency Management Standards. The Joint Commission. https://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/Emergency_Management_Update_Presentation.pdf. Accessed November 30, 2018.Google Scholar
Northwest Healthcare Response Network. https://nwhrn.org/. Accessed August 25, 2020.Google Scholar
Lis, R, Resnick, A. Coordinated communications and decision making to support a regional severe infectious disease response. Health Security. 2018;16(3):158-164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Northwest Healthcare Response Network. Plans and Tools. Updated 2019. https://nwhrn.org/plans-and-tools/. Accessed April 3, 2020.Google Scholar
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). EMS infectious disease playbook. https://www.setrac.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ASPR-EMS-Infectious-Disease-Playbook.pdf. Accessed April 3, 2020.Google Scholar
Carrier, E, Yee, T, Cross, D, Divya, S. Emergency preparedness and community coalitions: Opportunities and challenges. Research Brief. 2012;(24):1-9.https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/23155550. Accessed November 15, 2018.Google ScholarPubMed
Toner, E. Creating Situational Awareness: A systems approach. In: Medical surge capacity: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2010. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK32860/. Accessed August 25, 2020.Google Scholar
Thomas, MJ, Yoon, PW, Collins, JM, Davidson, AJ, MacKenzie, WR. Evaluation of syndromic surveillance systems in 6 US state and local health departments. JPHMP. 2018;24(3):235.Google ScholarPubMed
Branum, A, Dietz, JE, Black, DR. Local leadership in pandemic influenza. In: Dietz, JE, Black, D, eds. Pandemic Influenza. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC; 2012.Google Scholar
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Regulatory provisions to promote program efficiency, transparency, and burden reduction; fire safety requirements for certain dialysis facilities; hospital and critical access hospital changes to promote innovation, flexibility, and improvement in patient care. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=CMS-2018-0106-0620. Accessed April 3, 2019.Google Scholar
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Memo: Emergency preparedness- updates to Appendix Z of the State Operations Manual (SOM). https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Downloads/QSO19-06-ALL.pdf. Accessed February 1, 2019.Google Scholar
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HPP funds regional treatment network for Ebola and other special pathogens. 2018. https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/Pages/hpp-pathogens.aspx. Accessed April 18, 2020.Google Scholar
Watson, C, Watson, M, Gastfriend, D, KirkSell T. Federal funding for health security in FY2019. Health Security. 2018;16(5): 281-303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TOPOFF 2 (T2) After action report. Updated September 30, 2003. https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=443274. Accessed August 25, 2020.Google Scholar
Cameron, E, Katz, R, Konyndyk, J, Nalabandian, M. A spreading plague: Lessons and recommendations for responding to a deliberate biological event. Nuclear Threat Initiative. Updated June 13, 2019. https://www.nti.org/analysis/reports/spreading-plague-lessons-and-recommendationsresponding-deliberate-biological-event/. Accessed July 31, 2019.Google Scholar
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Health Security. Clade X-A pandemic exercise. Updated May 15, 2018. http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/ourwork/events/2018_clade_x_exercise/index.html. Accessed July 31, 2018.Google Scholar
City and County of San Francisco. Medical and health disaster exercise. Updated October 25, 2007. https://www.sfcdcp.org/wpcontent/uploads/2018/01/SFDPH.EMSA2007-exercise-AAR-execsummary.06-18-08-id141.pdf. Accessed November 26, 2019.Google Scholar
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. Holding the line on biodefense: State, local, tribal, and territorial reinforcements needed. https://www.biodefensestudy.org/Holding-the-Line-on-Biodefense. Accessed October 26, 2018.Google Scholar
Florida Health. Application of Information Sharing (IS) performance measures into practice: A CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement case study. http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-preparedness-and-response/healthcare-system-preparedness/_documents/App-capability6-Info-sharing-meas.pdf. Accessed August 25, 2020.Google Scholar
Koenig, KL, Schultz, CH, Runnerstrom, MG, Ogunseitan, OA. Public health and disasters: An emerging translational and implementation science, not “lessons learned”. Disaster Med Public. 2017;11(5):610-611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar