Building a National Standard for Outreach and Assistance to At-Risk Patients During Large-Scale Disasters

Health care institutions play an essential role in community resilience. As one of the largest health care systems in the United States, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) plays a critical role in supporting medically vulnerable Veterans during disasters. Disasters require large-scale outreach to individuals in affected areas, including the capability to identify patients, establish contact, determine needs, and deliver required services. Here we describe the development and implementation of VHA's Vulnerable Patient Care, Access, and Response in Emergencies (VP CARE) program, a data-driven system of outreach to preidentified medically vulnerable patients, which seeks to streamline this process.