ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes some of the main findings of the book and explores overall lessons generated from the authors perspectives. The part of the federal government's plan to deal with disasters and terrorist attacks relies heavily on healthcare emergency management, and requires the collaboration of many private sector partners with the American Red Cross and the US Department of Health and Human Services. Going forward, healthcare emergency management needs to address these persistent problems, gear up for possible war-time disasters, and find ways to prevent healthcare emergencies before they happen. The chapter concludes with the assertion that the authors must have a fully staffed, well-trained, and well-equipped front line of IT specialists who are ready to protect [and] defend. Similar arguments are made in the chapter on healthcare emergency management (i.e., the need for increased cross-sector collaboration, revised planning assumptions, and commissions to provide standards for civil defense type of emergencies).
