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Pandemic influenza and critical infrastructure dependencies: possible impact on hospitals
Author(s) -
Itzwerth Ralf L,
MacIntyre C Raina,
Shah Smita,
Plant Aileen J
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00712.x
Subject(s) - interdependence , pandemic , business , critical infrastructure , process (computing) , psychological intervention , influenza pandemic , business continuity , control (management) , h1n1 pandemic , covid-19 , risk analysis (engineering) , operations management , computer science , computer security , medicine , economics , political science , nursing , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , artificial intelligence , law , operating system
Hospitals will be particularly challenged when pandemic influenza spreads. Within the health sector in general, existing pandemic plans focus on health interventions to control outbreaks. The critical relationship between the health sector and other sectors is not well understood and addressed. Hospitals depend on critical infrastructure external to the organisation itself. Existing plans do not adequately consider the complexity and interdependency of systems upon which hospitals rely. The failure of one such system can trigger a failure of another, causing cascading breakdowns. Health is only one of the many systems that struggle at maximum capacity during “normal” times, as current business models operate with no or minimal “excess” staff and have become irreducible operations. This makes interconnected systems highly vulnerable to acute disruptions, such as a pandemic. Companies use continuity plans and highly regulated business continuity management to overcome process interruptions. This methodology can be applied to hospitals to minimise the impact of a pandemic.