Altered Standards of Care in Mass Casualty Events

This white paper summarizes the deliberations and recommendations of a group of experts during a meeting conducted in August 2004 regarding crisis standards of care. It provides: 1) the experts’ assessment of the need to develop and plan for the possible implementation of crisis standards of care, 2) a framework for the development of strategies in implementing crisis standards of care, 3) related issues that must be addressed in order for these strategies to be effective, and 4) the experts’ recommendations concerning the action steps to be taken to help states, communities, healthcare systems, and providers be prepared to respond to mass casualty events and save as many lives as possible.