Descriptive Analysis of Patient Encounter Data from the Fleet Hospital 5 Humanitarian Relief Mission in Haiti

摘要

Military planners and logisticians determine medical requirements by projecting the number of casualties that can be expected in a given combat scenario. Presently, the Deployable Medical Systems (DEPMEDS) program is used to project, assemble, and deploy the supplies, equipment, and personnel needed for a given combat mission. However, in recent years there has been a shift in US military strategy resulting in an increase in military operations other than war (MOOTW). Since this trend is likely to continue, it is important to update Department of Defense medical planning tools to account for MOOTW, such as humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and disaster relief. This report describes the patient demographics, type of medical encounter, diagnoses, and medications provided by medical personnel of Fleet Hospital 5 (FH5) during a humanitarian assistance operation in Haiti. Results are presented for clinics, which provided humanitarian relief to Haitian civilians, and for the fleet hospital, which was a treatment facility for US and United Nations military personnel. These data can be used by medical planners to determine MOOTW requirements in the post-Cold War era.