Pharmacy Leader's Role in Hospital Emergency Preparedness Planning

The objective of this article is to provide healthcare system pharmacy leaders with a practical approach in developing an emergency operations plan (EOP) that can be activated and help meet patient-centered needs in the event of a disaster. The authors address how pharmacy leaders should: 1) review government and community disaster responses and understand the movement of drug supply for each response; 2) create a pharmacy disaster plan; 3) list the essential medications and determine their inventory levels; and 4) establish a staff training program to enhance understanding and implementation of the EOP.