Persons with Disability – The Integral Role of Health Information Technology in Emergency Management: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation

On July 26, 2004, Executive Order 13347 was issued in order to "strengthen emergency preparedness with respect to individuals with disabilities.” It became a policy of the Federal Government to ensure that the supports needed by individuals with disabilities are integrated into emergency preparedness planning and implementation at the Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments and private organizations.

In the past 10 years, After Action Reports (9/11, the California wildfires, and Hurricane Andrew reports) issued by government agencies and disability consumer organizations identified systemic weaknesses in how persons with disabilities were accounted for and managed in emergency preparedness plans. Reports subsequent to the 2005-hurricane season, as well as the recent White House report entitled, "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned," document the continued existence of these problems. Unfortunately, these recommendations have not resulted in authoritative guidance on how best to obtain and reflect the needs of persons with disabilities in state emergency preparedness plans.

To address this gap, many disability and disability rights organizations have produced guidelines, checklists, workbooks, community toolkits, training modules, and information documents for emergency planners, first responders, and persons with disabilities on how to prepare communities and individuals to address the needs of persons with disabilities as a part of emergency preparedness planning. However, a review of the literature shows that no one electronic toolkit is sufficiently comprehensive. A critical component for any emergency response system is an easily accessed, local resource database that includes physical and human resources information.

Health information technology has an increasingly important role in information-sharing during emergencies and disasters, particularly for persons with special needs in ensuring they receive effective, coordinated, and quality health and human service care. It is, therefore, extremely important for health information technology to be incorporated into all emergency planning and response activities.