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A new study published Nov. 13 in the Chicago-based American Medical Association's (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal found that consistent, evidence-based performance measurements are needed to accurately evaluate hospitals' ability to manage patient care during a disaster, the AMA says.

Hospitals face difficulty in disaster preparation

January 1, 2009

Hospitals face difficulty in disaster preparation

A new study published Nov. 13 in the Chicago-based American Medical Association's (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal found that consistent, evidence-based performance measurements are needed to accurately evaluate hospitals' ability to manage patient care during a disaster, the AMA says.

The study was released online and was to be published in the journal's December 2008 issue.

"Although health care institutions regularly perform quality assessments of routine clinical services, few metrics are available to evaluate the quality of their emergency management initiatives," lead author Eliot J. Lazar, MD, MBA, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, said in a news release.

"The need for universally accepted, evidence-based performance measures continues to grow, as hospitals must be able to demonstrate their progress or needs for disaster readiness," he said.