Disasters and Emergencies: A Planning and Response Guide for Pharmacy Professionals

Disasters and emergencies necessitate careful planning, thoughtful responses, just-in-time training, and management. In the past few years, numerous natural and human-caused disasters have led to human and economic losses on an unmitigated scale. Because of their accessibility and training, pharmacy professionals are well positioned to play pivotal roles in disaster and emergency preparedness, planning, management, response, recovery, and resilience in collaboration with public health professionals, health care providers, and community stakeholders.

The first of its kind, this handbook provides unbiased and timely information to guide pharmacy professionals, educators, leaders, and policy makers to plan for emergencies and disasters. Drawing upon experiences of seasoned leaders in the field, this cutting-edge handbook provides guidance for training, exercises, and self-reflection questions to address rapidly evolving situations, as well as practical strategies for advocational, legal, and ethical issues pertaining to emergencies and disasters. The handbook also addresses emerging technological areas such as telehealth provision to ensure continuity-of-care.

More than 30 authors and reviewers contributed to the development of the handbook, which features diverse profiles of pharmacy leaders and organizations from 11 states and the District of Columbia. Pharmacy professionals can use the handbook as a reference guide with practical applications to prepare for, communicate, manage, and recover from a multitude of disasters.

KEY FEATURES::

• Highlights pharmacy professionals collaborative roles in disaster planning, training, response, and management
• Guidance on disaster and emergency preparedness and response training across different settings
• Diverse roles of pharmacy professionals providing patient-centered care and population-based interventions during and after disasters and emergencies
• Planning guide and program development strategies, exercises, and resources
• Advocacy, legal, and ethical considerations as related to disasters and emergencies
• Chapters include learning objectives, case studies, featured pharmacy profiles, and reflection questions