Can U.S. Health System Handle Bioterrorism, Flu Pandemics, Hurricanes?

Public health resources are insufficient to keep pace with changing demands of the public health system, especially given new concerns about bioterrorism, pandemic disease, and hurricane response, health experts warn in the July/August 2006 issue of the policy journal, Health Affairs.

“As health departments take on new roles and responsibilities, old functions are rarely jettisoned,” said lead author Leslie Beitsch, Director of the Center for Medicine & Public Health, Florida State University College of Medicine. The work of Beitsch and his coauthors is based on 2005 surveys of state and local public health agencies.

“THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH” – HEALTH AFFAIRS (July/August 2006) is available for $35. Copies of the 304-page volume may be ordered online or from Customer Service at 301-656-7401, ext. 900.