Responding to acts of terrorism -- the physician's role

AMA Leader Commentary. By Richard F. Corlin, MD. Oct. 15, 2001.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA President Richard F. Corlin, MD.

For all of us, the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, is a searing memory we will never forget. As physicians, we daily act to preserve human life. And I, like so many of you out there, still cannot understand how people could have so little respect for human life -- even their own -- that they would commit the heinous acts of terrorism in New York and Washington, D.C.

This is, of course, a shocking, frightening and angry time for all of us and for our country. Yet it is a time in which I find great inspiration from my long-ago decision to become a physician. The committed response of physicians and other health professionals in New York and Washington, D.C. -- and throughout the country -- is something in which we can take great pride.

We and our fellow citizens have been reminded that physicians are individuals who make a critical difference. We have had the honor of helping our injured fellow citizens and the survivors of the lost begin the healing process. We -- and the nation -- have watched colleagues hard at work, ankle deep in dust and dwarfed by the grotesque sculptures of the rubble at ground zero of this catastrophe.

The urge to volunteer their services was the immediate response for so many doctors at that time. Thousands volunteered through the state societies -- especially New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Medical Society of the State of New York, which provided an emergency volunteer telephone number, received offers of help from more than 7,000 physicians.

In the days following the attack, more than 3,500 physicians, nurses and health care workers contacted the AMA to volunteer their services. We shared with the Dept. of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson their names -- and will be following up with every one of them with information about future involvement in federal and local relief efforts.

The AMA also created a Web page providing links to resources and information to assist patients and physicians in coping with the terrorist attacks and assisting in relief efforts.

The recent tragedy points out the contribution and strength of the Federation of Medicine and the unique, unifying role of the AMA. It's an important time to be an AMA member, because membership supports such efforts.

The AMA and organized medicine offer a well-organized infrastructure to connect with our nation's physicians and the many state, county and specialty societies, bringing them information, education, advocacy -- and even a channel for mobilization, if needed.

A key role for the AMA is to convene members of the Federation, including state, county and specialty societies. Outside grantors are willing to fund key projects that bring essential people together, and we are developing proposals to address the threat of terrorism of all types, including bioterrorism.

Certainly, our AMA's role as a national institution can be to act as a facilitator with national associations and federal agencies -- including HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Dept. of Defense and others, including the newly created Office of Homeland Security -- that are involved in response planning.

The AMA can serve in finding the right people to help in any kind of disaster by stratifying the supply of physicians according to self-designated area of practice, status, location and licensure. Even though such information is publicly available, the AMA can help save time by identifying needed resources for the agencies responsible for responding to natural or man-made disasters.

AMA experts have already testified before the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction -- also known as the "Gilmore Commission," for its chair, Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

On the very day of the terrorist attack, Scott Deitchman, MD, chair of the AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs Bioterrorism Subcommittee, was attending the annual conference of emergency response officials in Big Sky, Mont., along with Joseph Allbaugh, the director of FEMA, among others.

One of the day's main seminar topics was how to prepare for terrorist attacks. But history overtook theory, as some key participants were airlifted out by military aircraft to contend with the awful reality of such attacks.

Medicine's assignments are daunting -- but necessary. The need for preparedness encompasses the entire medical community, from the individual practitioner to national and governmental organizations.

As always, however, a significant amount of responsibility rests with the individual physician. In addition to keeping up with the clinical education necessary to cope with the medical results of a terrorist attack -- or even a natural disaster -- physicians must make certain that our hospitals and communities are actively involved in disaster preparedness on a continuing basis.

Our AMA is committed to disseminating key pertinent and factual information. We encourage all to monitor our Web site on a daily basis for updates.

Physicians lead by the good works we do for others -- and those people look up to us as models for the fearless professional behavior needed in these demanding times.

Responding to acts of terrorism or natural disasters will require the coordinated efforts of physicians, public health agencies, health care facilities, and community, state and federal agencies. Those of us in organized medicine must help prepare the medical community to deal with the challenges created by such disasters.

In the past weeks, our AMA has received dozens of messages of good will and offers of help from medical associations throughout the world. They understand, as we do, that in our global village, what harms one of us, harms all of us.

Dr. Corlin, a gastroenterologist in private practice in Santa Monica, Calif., served as AMA president during 2001-02.