Abstract
This is the official position statement of the National Association of EMS Physicians on the role of emergency medical services (EMS) in disaster response.
Position Statement
The National Association of EMS Physicians believes that:
Within a defined community, the local emergency medical services (EMS) authority should have a lead role in disaster response and collaborate with other appropriate agencies in a unified command structure as determined by the specific disaster.
EMS physicians and administrators should participate in the four phases of disaster management for a defined community (mitigation, planning, response, and recovery).
EMS providers are uniquely positioned to respond to disasters and work within an incident command system (ICS). Therefore, EMS providers should be utilized in disaster response at a local level and encouraged to work together and/or participate with support teams such as community emergency response teams (CERTs), medical reserve corps (MRCs), and disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs).
EMS physicians and administrators should plan to address the following issues in anticipation of EMS providers’ participating in disaster response: licensure, worker protection, liability protection, surge capacity, documentation, and stress management.