Doctors Group Calls for Better Disaster Coordination

By Eileen Fleming

Haiti – Doctor Fred Wilson of New Orleans practiced as an orthopedic trauma specialist after Hurricane Katrina, and again in Haiti after the earthquake. He said that both disasters had "colossal screw-ups" in coordination, most recently hampering earthquake relief.

Wilson:
"We did mobile clinics. We did clinics up in the mountains, and really basically did whatever assistance we could. But it was, it was incredibly chaotic and it was incredibly difficult to put the right assets and the right doctors in the right places"

The 36-thousand member medical society is working on creating credentials.The information would be used as a data base, allowing doctors rapid clearance to where they're needed most.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans