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Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 2009;302(15):1634.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

As new threats from pandemic influenza join ever-present risks of earthquakes, hurricanes, or bioterrorism, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued new recommendations to guide health professionals during emergencies or catastrophic events.

The IOM report, compiled at the request of the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, emphasizes the need for state and local public health departments and health care facilities to establish consistent standards of crisis care in the event of disasters that could sicken or injure thousands of individuals.

"In a public health emergency, dedicated professionals will not have the capacity to deliver" their usual high standards of care, said Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, chair of the IOM committee that produced the report. "The health care system will collapse without a rational plan that includes ethical allocation of limited resources and that is seen by the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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