A free computer model that hospitals can use to plan prophylaxis clinics for dispensing critical drugs or vaccinations in the event of disease outbreaks or bioterrorism is available on the web. Hospital emergency planning staffs may download the model from the AHA website and use it to assess what it would take to operate such a clinic in their community. Hospitals are urged to work with their state and/or local public health agencies and hospital associations to plan responses to such events, including practice drills. To download the model, developed by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College with funding from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, go to http://www.aha.org/re/disasterreadiness.

The model, Bioterrorism and Epidemic Outbreak Response Model (BERM), is made available by HHS and AHRQ to the American Hospital Association (AHA) for distribution to all US hospitals.

The tool was developed by researchers in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and funded by AHRQ. This is the first such computer model that hospitals and public health agencies can download and customize to meet their local needs. Using common spread sheet software, hospital teams can examine different variables and scenarios in a very user-friendly fashion.