Mass Casualty Planning: Model for In-Hospital Disaster Response

Abstract

There is a rich mythology surrounding disasters and our response to them, which has built up over decades and hampers a scientific and objective response to the salvage of life and property. That mythology supports rationales for not dealing prospectively with the very real, but unpredictable, quirks of mankind, nature, and technology. Our response to disaster planning is all too often characterized by ignorance, with a fair share of parochialism, misinformation and unrealistic expectations.