Regional interoperability: making systems connect in complex disasters.
Effective use of the Incident Command System (ICS) is the key to regional interoperability. Many different organizations with different command structures and missions respond to a disaster. The ICS allows different kinds of agencies (fire, police, and medical) to work together effectively in response to a disaster. Functional requirements, not titles, determine the organizational hierarchy of the ICS structure. The ICS is a modular/adaptable system for all disasters regardless of etiology and for all organizations regardless of size.
Briggs
Susan Miller
SM
Department of Surgery, International Trauma and Disaster Institute, Massachusetts, General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114-2335, USA. sbriggs@partners.org
D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018511:Systems Integration