Appraisal of Disaster Response Plan of Hospitals in Taipei Judged by Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS)

Taipei City government has begun to ask the emergency response hospitals to implement HEICS in their disaster response planning. We then evaluated the adequacies of these plans and make comparisons among the plans of different hospitals. Of the 53 plans, there were about 50 (94%) that had predictable chain of management, and the average score was 78 points. As to accountability of position function, there were only 10 (19%) plans that met the criteria, the average score was only 45. Fewer hospitals (n=8; 13%) had flexible organizational chart that allows flexible response to specific emergencies, improved documentation of facility and also common language to facilitate outside assistance. The scores were 40, 40 and 48, respectively. Finally, only 6 hospitals have provided prioritized response checklists, cost effective emergency planning within health care corporations, and complete governmental requirements. The scores were thus 35, 35 and 30 respectively. The average score was significantly higher in tertiary center than in other hospitals (68+8 vs. 45+14, P<0.001). For 7 individual categories, the average points of tertiary centers were also significantly better than those of others. In summary, there are still many engagements in training, understanding of HEICS and the overwhelming idea of changing out an entire disaster plan in our systems. (Ann Disaster Med. 2003;1:104-111)