MACIAS D, WILLIAMS J. Austere, remote and disaster medicine-keeping everybody safe. Med Emergency, MJEM 2014; 20:23-9.
Keywords: Wilderness medicine, disaster medicine, resource-limited, 7 P’S
- Authors’ affiliation
- Article history / info
- Conflict of interest statement
Department of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services Academy, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
dmacias@salud.unm.edu
Macias D, MD, Williams J
Department of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services Academy, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Received: May 5, 2014
Revised: June 20, 2014
Accepted: July 4, 2014
ABSTRACT
Medical care in resource-limited environments (“austere†settings) can occur in the context of a disaster, wilderness, or a tactical field operation. Regardless of the type of environment, there are common organizational themes in most successful humanitarian missions that occur in harsh environmental conditions, be they natural, or man-made. These principles prioritize the initiation and execution of any given deployment in austere or remote settings, diverging from priorities that would occur in a situation where the medical structure is intact and operating well. Attention to these priorities not only helps providers with delivering medical care to the needy during a period of resource limitations, they also can keep a provider, teams, the public, and a patient safe during, and after a deployment.