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Database Could Aid Bioterrorism Response
The University of Nebraska Medical Center has created a database that could help coordinate the medical response to a biological attack, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 21). The database, which tracks 35,000 health care professionals in Nebraska, has attracted the attention of other states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “They clearly, I think, are in the forefront,” said Edward Salsberg, director of the Center for Workforce Studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges. “They are definitely a model for the other states.” The database contains information on where medical personnel live and work, their education, languages spoken and their specialty. “They have near current, not just mailing addresses, but e-mail addresses and fax numbers … and other means of quickly reaching their health care professionals,” said Ed Thompson, CDC head of public health practice. If anthrax were detected in a Nebraska city, the database could identify doctors capable of handling the pathogen, said database creator Kolene Kohll. The state Health and Human Services Department would then quickly contact those physicians through an emergency broadcast system. Kohll said 30 states have shown interest in having databases created. “There's a big, nationwide push toward getting accurate work force information. There's very much a need,” she said (Chuck Brown, Associated Press/ABC News, Nov. 6).
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