J Korean Med Assoc.  2019 May;62(5):258-264. 10.5124/jkma.2019.62.5.258.

Victim-oriented digital disaster emergency medical system

• Ahn ME
• Lee TH
• Kim DW

• KMID: 2445790
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2019.62.5.258

Abstract

The fatality rate of a disaster is associated with the impact of the disaster and the case fatality rate. The severity of the disaster can be reduced by an efficient disaster management system, and the capacity of the trained disaster response system can lower the case mortality rate. The severity of a disaster is determined by the interaction of risk factors and vulnerabilities in a particular area, and the case-fatality rate is determined by a correlation between the capacity of the disaster response team and the survivability of the victims. The disaster management system and the disaster response system are complementary and interconnected, and the efficiency of cooperation and linkage can be improved by developing well organized digitalization. Efforts to increase the survival rate of victims through digitalization has been a continued process and new alternatives are being developed in accordance with the advances in information and communication technology to manage disaster risk factors and to improve disaster response capabilities. However, in case of mass casualty incidents, it is still difficult to reduce the case mortality rate by securing the survival time limit of the victims. Often, sharing the disaster scene information and communicating with the victim is not feasible. A lack of ability to provide real time escape route to exit or safe zone proves fatal. The communication revolution of the next generation wireless wide area network called 5G can overcome the disruption of communication network during the disaster incidents. It can enable real time tracking of the position of victim and linking the victims with its rescuers. Hence, it is possible to increase the survival rate of victims during mass casualty incidents by associating information and communication technologies with appropriate disaster management and response strategies, real-time information exchange and education and training of rescuers and citizens.

Keyword

Disasters; Fatality rate; Case fatality case; Digitalization; Information and communication technology

MeSH Terms

Disasters*
Education
Emergencies*
Mass Casualty Incidents
Mortality
Risk Factors
Survival Rate
United Nations

Figure

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  Figure 1 Disaster impact and fatality rate. EMS, emergency medical service.

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  Figure 2 5G-based emergency medical service in disasters (EMSD). CBS, cell broadcasting system; eMBMS, evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service.

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