(A332) Increasing Medical Situational Awareness and Interoperability via “Virtual USA”

Abstract

Introduction

History is replete with interoperability and resource reporting deficits during disaster that impact medical response and planning. Situational awareness for disaster and emergency medical response includes communicating health hazards as well as infrastructure and resource status, capability and GIS location. The need for actionable, real-time data is crucial to response. Awareness facilitates medical resource placement, response and recovery. A number of internet, web-based disaster resource and situational status reporting applications exist but may be limited or restricted by functional, jurisdictional, proprietary and/or financial requirements. Restrictions prohibit interoperability and inhibit information sharing that could affect health care delivery. Today multiple United States jurisdictions are engaged in infrastructure and resource situation status reporting via “virtual” states and regional projects considered components of “Virtual USA”.

Methods

This report introduces the United States' Department of Homeland Security's “Virtual USA” initiative and demonstrates a health application and interoperability via “Virtual Louisiana's” oil spill related exposure reporting during the 2010, British Petroleum Gulf Horizon catastrophe. Five weekly Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital summary reports from the Louisiana Poison Center; Hospital Surveillance Systems; Public Health Hotline; and Physician Clinic Offices were posted on the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness's “Virtual Louisiana”.

Results

227 total spill-related, exposure cases from five reporting weeks were provided by five Louisiana source agencies and reported in Virtual Louisiana. Cases were reported weekly and classified as “workers” or “population”; associated with the parish exposure locations (8), offshore (1), or unknown (1); and shared with four other virtual states.

Conclusions

Real-time health and medical situation status, resource awareness, and incident impact could be facilitated through constructs demonstrated by “Virtual USA”.