Disaster Preparedness in Emergency Medical Services: An Evidence Based Analysis of Planning and Response Effectiveness

Abstract

The catastrophes place massive pressures on Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which makes disaster preparedness an obligatory condition to successful response and treatment of patients. The current review is a critical evaluation of the existing body of scientific literature related to disaster preparedness in the EMS context with a focus on such aspects as the planning, workforce preparedness, management of resources, communication systems, inter-agencies coordination, and the effectiveness of the response.