175115 Dispensing Mass Prophylaxis — Going Beyond PODS

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 9:00 AM

Sinan Khan, MPH, MA , Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
Anke Richter, PhD , Defense Resources Management Institute, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
Dee Ann Bagwell, MA, MPH , Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
Jonathan Freedman, MSPH , Department of Public Health, County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Local emergency planners are creating mass prophylaxis plans to prophylax their populations within forty eight hours in order to reduce morbidity and mortality after a bioterrorist attack. The Points of Dispensing (PODs) as recommended by the CDC are central to many regions' mass prophylaxis plans. In order to function well, PODs require regional and physical characteristics that are not present in all jurisdictions, especially major urban centers. PODs are limited by resource availability, in particular staffing, security and site locations, and additional alternate methods of dispensing are required to be meet prophylaxis targets. The CDC recommends several alternate modes of dispensing and there are several others that are regularly discussed on the SNS listserv. Alternate modes of dispensing fall into two broad categories - those which are open to the entire population and those which are closed, serving only a particular portion of the population. It will not be possible to implement all possible alternate modes of dispensing and choices will need to be made among them. We review the issues encountered with PODs in Los Angeles County and discuss the pros and cons of 10 alternate modes of dispensing from a large urban center's point of view.

Learning Objectives:
Determine the most important limitations to PODs in a major urban center Recognize the importance of alternate modes of dispensing during a large scale public health emergency that requires mass prophylaxis List the pros and cons of alternate modes of dispensing that are considered best practices Determine the most important attributes of each alternate mode of dispensing and understand how (and if) it complements the PODs system in a region.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, Emergency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: The contents are a part of my thesis developed at the Naval Postgraduate School
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.