The bombs that ripped through the crowd at the finish line of last year's Boston Marathon taught valuable lessons for responding to a mass disaster, according to an article on the Reuters website.
"This was worth more than 1,000 drills," said Dr. Eric Goralnick, medical director of emergency preparedness at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
"A real event highlights real shortfalls and real successes like no other. And, after the marathon, every healthcare provider became a champion of emergency preparedness."
The many patients who arrived with no identification highlighted gaps in electronic tracking systems, for instance. Staff from Boston's hospitals have since created a new single-page disaster record, including a checklist to capture specific aspects of care that might be missed in a disaster and record identifying features like hair color, tattoos and piercings.
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