Full-scale Simulations to Improve Disaster Preparedness in Hospital Pharmacies

Four Swiss hospital pharmacies conducted two full-scale simulation exercises each at least four months apart. Two scenarios were used—a major road accident and a terrorist attack—each involving approximately 50 casualties. The authors of this article assessed whether personnel were better prepared for disasters after each successive exercise. Results indicated that the four hospitals accomplished 69% (± 6%) of the actions expected of them during exercise one, which increased to 84% (± 7%) during the second exercise.