The Use of Wide Area Computer Networks in Disaster Management and the Implications for Hospital/Medical Networks

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Abstract
Computer-mediated communication in various forms is already being used in all phases of disaster management--preparation, response, recovery, and long-term mitigation. However, to date wide area computer networks--particularly the Internet (the supernetwork of networks)--have been used only to a limited extent in disaster management and prevention. Some of these applications are described in this paper. Nevertheless, the high speed and ease of information transfer by computer network and the vast resources becoming available on the Internet make it inevitable that the use of computer networks to temper disasters will increase enormously in the next decade. The Internet will provide a key means through which networks initially dedicated to solely medical purposes and the individuals who use them will become involved not only in disaster response and mitigation worldwide, but in the global community and consciousness that is the Internet.