| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Despite the potential array of atypical medical contingencies that the U.S. health system could face if confronted with mass-casualty events (MCE) resulting from terrorist attacks using conventional explosives, American hospitals are neither sufficiently funded nor prepared to effectively respond to such potentialities. Historically, the bias in most MCE planning has been toward the worst case scenarios, often entailing weapons of mass destruction (such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons), on the assumption that any other MCEs, including those where conventional explosions are used, can simply be addressed as a lesser-included contingency. Yet, MCEs present unique medical challenges that to date the United States has mercifully rarely experienced but nonetheless must be prepared for.
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