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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Marti Szczur, MS, Florence Chang, MS, and Bijan Mashayekhi, MS. Division of Specialized Information Services, National Library of Medicine, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20892, 301-4966073, szczurm@mail.nlm.nih.gov

To meet the needs of the emergency responder during a hazardous materials disaster, National Library of Medicine (NLM) has developed two (free!) public health tools - WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders), an application created specifically for use by emergency responders (ERs) during hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents; and REMM (Radiological Event Medical Management), an information portal and assessment tool for use by physicians during a radiological accident or terrorist event. WISER is available as a stand-alone tool for PDAs (Palm and Pocket PC) and Windows desktop/laptops, which is required when responders do not have reliable network connectivity. WISER is also available from a Web browser for training, planning and/or operations when connectivity is reliable. The content is a subset of chemical substances extracted from the NLM Hazardous Substance Data Bank, which has detailed, peer-reviewed information on over 4,800 hazardous substances. REMM is a new tool being developed in collaboration with the Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness. A prototype of REMM is under review and feedback from the intended user community of physicians will guide its development into an operational system, which will be openly available to the public health community and the public. This presentation will include a description and live demonstration of both WISER and REMM, as well as provide an overview of other NLM web-based resources appropriate for emergency and disaster preparedness/training.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn what are the information requirements of hazardous materials emergency responders
• Understand how WISER works and what are the tool’s features
• Understand how REMM works and what are the tool’s features
• Knowledge of other NLM resources useful for training emergency responders
• Lessons learned from users during real hazmat incidences
• Availability of WISER and REMM and plans for future development

Keywords: Disasters, Emergency

Related Web page: wiser.nlm.nih.gov

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered