(P2-40) Patient Allocation to Hospitals During Mass-Casualty Incidents

Abstract

Due to the limited resources of specialized hospital departments, the allocation of patients to different hospitals according to severity is an extraordinarily complex and time-critical problem. The emergency capacity was determined for all medical centers (n = 135) in the State of Hessen, Germany, for patients of various triage categories (red, yellow, green) during normal working hours, and during weekends and nights and included logistic specifications of a potential helicopter landing. These data were entered into a state register. Using the data from the “acute-care-register”, a Ticket System was developed that allows operations management to assign patients according to the severity of their condition, urgency, and specialization requirements (e.g., neurosurgery, ophthalmology, pediatrics) to a hospital without exceeding the admission and/or treatment capacity of the hospital/facility. During a non-critical period, the order of allocations depending on the distance from the clinic is planned in advance so that no further modifications are necessary during the acute intervention phase of an emergency response. Additional notification of hospital capacities for severe casualties provided during the emergency response can be easily and immediately supplemented. Due to the relatively low frequency of such emergency responses, a cost-effective concept that is easily adaptable to the respective fields of application was decided upon. The system is a sticker set customized for the respective rescue teams. The sets will be carried permanently in the rescue equipment by the organization manager of the rescue service team. The equipment is not dependent on electronic components. The cost per sticker set is approximately US$50. Keeping track of the patient allocations is assured.