|
Abstract: Public health emergency preparedness is a national, state, and local priority. Federal, state, tribal, and local governments strive to craft an appropriate legal environment for public health emergencies. However, during declared emergencies, the legal landscape changes instantly and drastically. With this changing landscape comes significant, though temporary, legal challenges that require affirmative responses to effectuate public health efforts. In this state of legal triage, how the legal profession in both public and private sectors responds to these challenges during declared public health emergencies through innovative, coordinated efforts is as much a part of legal preparedness as what is done in advance or after the emergency.
This brief commentary defines the concept of legal triage and discusses how legal responses in real-time during emergencies can facilitate (or derail) public health efforts. This discussion focuses on three key legal issues underlying the deployment and use of volunteer health personnel to meet surge capacity in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: (1) the effect of various declared states of emergency, (2) civil liability concerns of volunteers seeking to provide essential medical services, and (3) licensure reciprocity for out-of-state medical personnel.
|