Changes to the Korean Disaster Medical Assistance System After Numerous Multi-casualty Incidents in 2014 and 2015

Abstract

Objective A number of multiple-casualty incidents during 2014 and 2015 brought changes to Korea's disaster medical assistance system. We report these changes here. Methods Reports about these incidents, revisions to laws, and the government's revised medical disaster response guidelines were reviewed. Results The number of DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team) staff members was reduced to 4 from 8, and the mobilization method changed. An emergency response manual was created that contains the main content of the DMAT, and there is now a DMAT training program to educate staff. The government created and launched a national 24-hour Disaster Emergency Medical Service Situation Room, and instead of the traditional wireless communications, mobile instant smart phone messaging has been added as a new means of communication. The number of disaster base hospitals has also been doubled. Conclusion Although there are still limitations that need to be remedied, the changes to the current emergency medical assistance system are expected to improve the system's response capacity. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:526-530)