Federal Roles and Plans for Medical Countermeasure Development and Use in Public Health Emergencies
The American people face a host of national health security threats from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents and emerging infectious diseases. The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) leads the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise (PHEMCE) in coordinating the efforts of multiple federal agencies that protect Americans from potential adverse health impacts through the use of medical countermeasures (i.e., medicines, devices, or other medical interventions) for all segments of the U.S. civilian population, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly. The
2012 PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation Plan have critical implications for the public health community.
- Federal initiatives to provide innovative approaches to medical countermeasure management to enhance development and sustain capabilities;
- Opportunities for SLTT authorities and the public health community to work with the federal government to develop realistic and actionable medical countermeasure response strategies;
- Current and proposed programs to enhance communication efforts before, during and after a response; and
- Ongoing efforts to build medical countermeasure delivery and utilization capabilities at the regional level such as the National Postal Model and Hospital Preparedness Program initiatives, as well as effective utilization of the National Disaster Medical System.
Together, the 2012 PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation Plan provide the blueprints the PHEMCE will follow in the near-, mid-, and long-terms to make the best use of available resources to enhance national health security.
