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In any emergency, time is of the essence when it comes to patient care. Whether managing acute injuries or illness due to the incident or continuing care for residents with chronic illnesses or in need of specialty care, telehealth can help. It can ensure patients are not unnecessarily transferred and stay close to home in rural areas. It can ease crowding in urban emergency departments while helping patients maintain their healthcare during disaster response. Telehealth can also ease pressure on healthcare providers, allowing them to access electronic health records while simultaneously video conferencing with patients to determine best next steps. This issue of The Exchange reflects related lessons learned and includes the following articles:
Many of you are planning for or have already experienced heat waves and severe weather. We invite you to take some time to review our Natural Disasters Topic Collection which includes links to air quality resources, lessons learned, and plans, tools, and templates on extreme heat, fire/wildfire, and floods/landslides. Your communities may also be planning to host large gatherings (e.g., sporting, music, 250th anniversary events). Our Mass Gatherings/Special Events Topic Collection can help you create robust plans for mass critical care before an incident strikes.
We wish you, your colleagues, and the communities you serve a safe and healthy summer. We hope this issue is helpful and we welcome your feedback.
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