Assessment of emergency preparedness among physicians in a major metropolitan area

As with any infectious disease outbreak or other public health emergency, immediate recognition and reporting by medical professionals may be critical to the early detection that is crucial in the effective response to an intentional biological event (bioterrorism). The role of physicians in the detection, reporting and response of anomalous biological events is therefore critical to the community's safety. In an effort to assess the level of preparedness of local physicians to respond to an infectious disease outbreak, bioterrorism event, or other public health emergency, the City of Fort Worth Public Health Department's Bioterrorism and Health Emergency Preparedness Program, the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Health Authority and the Tarrant County Medical Society collaborated in designing and administering an assessment survey. A cross-sectional survey of practicing and retired physicians throughout Tarrant County, Texas was conducted in Spring 2006. The results indicated that 49% of local physicians reported their knowledge as “poor,” 80% desired more information and 83% favored more training opportunities. Those physicians who have reported prior training were more confident in their skill in both the recognition and response to a biological event and were also more likely to serve as volunteers in the event of an emergency. These findings suggest that local clinical preparedness efforts need to improve access and training to area physicians through increased and improved educational modalities. Ultimately, these survey and evaluation efforts can help cultivate educational interventions that will enhance the participation, integration, and mobilization of clinicians in the event of a community emergency.