GAO: many hospitals unready for bioterrorism

Healthcare Purchasing News, Sept, 2003

Most of the nation's urban hospitals have participated in bioterrorism planning and coordination activities, but lack the medical equipment needed to handle the likely surge in patients during a bioterrorist incident, according to a study released last month by the General Accounting Office and reported on by the American Hospital Association.

For example, half of the 1,482 urban hospitals surveyed by GAO between May and September 2002 reported having fewer than six ventilators per 100 staffed beds. Four out of five hospitals had a written emergency response plan addressing bioterrorism, although many plans omitted some key contacts, and almost all of the hospitals were coordinating their planning activities with other agencies.

Most of the hospitals also were training personnel to identify and diagnose diseases caused by biological agents, but fewer than half had conducted drills or exercises simulating response to a bioterrorist incident. The report is available at http://www.gao.gov/.>

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