Disaster Patient Tracking Policies

Natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis can devastate entire communities, causing massive casualties. Man-made disasters, whether the result of terrorism, war or accident, can also prove catastrophic. Medical facilities are usually overwhelmed with patients after disaster strikes. Keeping track of patients can be extremely difficult, especially when so many are wounded and in need of critical care. Agencies and organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Administration have patient-tracking policies in place to ensure the delivery of proper medical care, and to help people locate family members and friends.

ESF #8

• Emergency Support Function No. 8 is a part of the National Response Framework, a policy created to establish a comprehensive, national approach to domestic incident response. ESF No. 8 uses the National Disaster Medical System to track patients who receive medical care during a disaster. The departments of defense, veterans affairs and homeland security join FEMA in assuming responsibilities for patient tracking under ESF No. 8.

Patient Movement

• The Department of Defense is the primary agency that is responsible for moving patients out of disaster areas when local medical systems are overwhelmed. Local authorities gather injured people after a disaster and relocate them to "casualty collection points." Patients that need further care beyond those points will be rerouted to a state-operated Aerial Point of Embarkation. Federal agencies are called in to assist with the transfer and movement of patients when state and local resources cannot handle a high influx of patients. The Department of Defense's US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Defense Distribution Operations Center manages the movement of patients through NDMS policy.

JPATS

• The Joint Patient Assessment and Tracking System (JPATS) is a national patient-tracking system developed by the National Disaster Medical System. The Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services are responsible for operating JPATS. This system gives information about disaster victims -- including their names, social security numbers, date of birth and the kind of medical treatment they received or will need. JPATS also traces each medical facility where a where an injured person received care and it keeps track of deceased patients.

State and Local Policies

• State and local government and community hospitals typically develop their own policies for patient tracking. Models are developed and used in conjunction with various agencies such as the American Red Cross. Information is obtained by identifying patients as they enter into a triage area, creating a patient chart and assigning a patient tracking manager that works with other hospital officials to admit, transfer or treat and discharge patients.