Primary Care Physicians: an Untapped Resource for Disaster Response

Abstract

The importance of the primary care physicians (PCP) role in disaster preparedness can often be overlooked by communities, organizations, and physicians themselves. Understanding how PCP is currently trained to respond to a disaster can help to ensure knowledge in disaster preparedness and their response to disasters in the future. Even as disasters continue to be a part of daily life, studies have shown that there continues to be a lack of preparedness on the physician’s part to respond due to insufficient training. The willingness and eagerness of physicians to help exists; however, there is a disconnect between the larger federal organizations, local organizations and the physician’s role in the planning, implementation, and response to a disaster. It continues to be imperative that physicians, starting in their training years, become familiar with disaster preparedness and build the confidence to lead or take part in response. Moving forward, medical schools, residency programs, and continuing medical education courses need to focus and capitalize on the sense of responsibility physicians have toward patients and families and give them the tools that they need to become familiar and confident in creating a role for themselves in disaster preparedness.