Abstract
GLOBAL DISASTER UNPREPAREDNESS - The global COVID-19 crisis of 2020 has thrown a disturbing spotlight on the many ways in which healthcare systems, governments, medical industries, markets, and healthcare professions have been dangerously fragmented, unprepared, under-resourced, tragically slow and uncoordinated in responding to the most disruptive medical disaster of our times. Despite numerous threat-analysis studies, detailed pandemic scenarios and simulations by state and Federal agencies, despite billions of dollars spent on post-9/11 international disaster preparedness, and repeated top-levels warnings, the world’s governments, markets and healthcare systems have failed to prepare and prevent a health disaster from exploding into a multi-dimensional catastrophe. 
 The fragmentation of plans and competencies across sectors, complicated by political decision-making, clearly demand mission-critical re-organization among the institutional players, with more coordinated, integrated, and systems-oriented professional approaches worldwide, and active cultivation of public health intelligence. For the reasons that follow, Clinical and Biomedical Engineers are among the best-suited health professionals to assume an expanded and comprehensive leadership role in this urgently needed transformation.
Highlights
GLOBAL DISASTER UNPREPAREDNESSThe global COVID-19 crisis of 2020 has thrown a global spotlight on the many ways in which healthcare systems,[1,2] governments,[3,4] medical industries,[5] markets,[6] and healthcare professions[7] have been unprepared, under-resourced, tragically slow and uncoordinated in responding to the most disruptive medical disaster of our times
Despite numerous threat-analysis studies,[8] detailed pandemic scenarios,[9] and simulations by state and federal agencies,[10] despite trillions of dollars spent on post-9/11 international disaster preparedness,[11] and repeated top-levels warnings by epidemiological and public health experts, the world’s governments, markets, and healthcare systems have failed to prepare and prevent a health disaster from exploding into a multidimensional catastrophe
The WHO analysis and recommendations in “Human Resources for Medical Devices” provide a transformational vision for Biomedical and Clinical Engineering worldwide that strongly harmonize with the recommendations contained in this article.[12]
Summary
The global COVID-19 crisis of 2020 has thrown a global spotlight on the many ways in which healthcare systems,[1,2] governments,[3,4] medical industries,[5] markets,[6] and healthcare professions[7] have been unprepared, under-resourced, tragically slow and uncoordinated in responding to the most disruptive medical disaster of our times. Despite numerous threat-analysis studies,[8] detailed pandemic scenarios,[9] and simulations by state and federal agencies,[10] despite trillions of dollars spent on post-9/11 international disaster preparedness,[11] and repeated top-levels warnings by epidemiological and public health experts, the world’s governments, markets, and healthcare systems have failed to prepare and prevent a health disaster from exploding into a multidimensional catastrophe. For the reasons that follow, clinical and biomedical engineers are among the best-suited health professionals to assume an expanded and more comprehensive leadership role as subject matter experts in this urgently needed transformation, “ following the recent adoption of the recommendations of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health, and the establishment of national health workforce accounts.”. For the reasons that follow, clinical and biomedical engineers are among the best-suited health professionals to assume an expanded and more comprehensive leadership role as subject matter experts in this urgently needed transformation, “ following the recent adoption of the recommendations of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health, and the establishment of national health workforce accounts.” In particular, the WHO analysis and recommendations in “Human Resources for Medical Devices” provide a transformational vision for Biomedical and Clinical Engineering worldwide that strongly harmonize with the recommendations contained in this article.[12]
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