FICEMS Releases National Implementation Plan for Standardizing Mass Casualty Triage

June 11, 2014

Source: NHTSA Office of EMS

Preparedness requires a coordinated national effort involving every level of government, as well as the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. EMS systems are essential to the nation’s preparation for the initial emergency medical response to catastrophic incidents. An EMS system, ready every day for every emergency, is the nation’s best preparation for the initial emergency medical response to catastrophic incidents. Continuing to integrate EMS into planning and preparedness initiatives is an area of national focus.

Mass Casualty Incident Preparedness and Research

The Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS) approved the "National Implementation of the Model Uniform Core Criteria (MUCC) for Mass Casualty Incident Triage" on July 8, 2013. The MUCC is a science and consensus-based national guideline that recommends 24 core criteria for all mass casualty triage systems aimed to ensure the interoperability of systems during a mass casualty response.

As an initial step in implementing the recommended action steps in the plan, NHTSA is partnering with National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) to create an addendum to the Instructional Guidelines of the National EMS Education Standards that outlines the MUCC principles and enables educators to instruct students in the use of triage systems that are MUCC compliant and consistent with state and local practice.

NEMSIS Data and MCI Epidemiology

NHTSA staff recently used National EMS Database data to study the epidemiology of mass casualty incidents throughout the nation. Their report was published in Prehospital Emergency Care and is available here.

Access additional resources and links at http://ems.gov/preparedness.htm.