Testing Your Readiness to Respond

States and government agencies are also getting into contingency planning mode.

[Integrated Warehousing Solutions (IWS), a Downers Grove, Illinois]-based material handling systems integrator has adapted its IRMS warehouse management system for use in statewide emergency health care distribution in the event of a natural or man-made disaster or health crisis. State agencies using or considering its product put it through rigorous testing, says IWS CEO Scott Upp.

The product, a mobile emergency response system, or "Go-Kit," is essentially a pre-configured WMS in a box, and includes bar-code labeling printers; labeling scanners; laser printers; a communications system capable of landline, wireless, or satellite linkup; and portable power supply.

The kit allows a state response team to set up immediately in a disaster area, and, at a moment's notice, have the capability to record patient data and distribute incoming health care supplies -- such as vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and donated items.

Georgia is currently implementing the system as part of its statewide emergency response effort. The state will test its usage capacity -- up to 3,000 simultaneous users and 300,000 patient data entries per hour -- before rolling it out, and will continue to test regularly after rollout via health crisis simulations.

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