The following is the summary of “Not war, not terrorism, the impact of hybrid warfare on emergency medicine” published in the December 2022 issue of Emergency medicine by Granholm, et al.
Terrorists, criminals, and even rogue states can threaten healthcare institutions and medical professionals. Conventional warfare, irregular warfare, terrorism, criminality, and other hybrid threats like cyberattacks and drone technology are commonly used to define the notion of Hybrid Warfare. Hybrid warfare poses a serious threat to healthcare systems, whether they are the primary or secondary target. The purpose of this study is to give clinicians, researchers, and emergency managers a foundational understanding of hybrid warfare and its potential effects on healthcare, as well as a framework for preparing for and recovering from such an event, with a focus on emergency medicine.
The impact of various hybrid threats on emergency medicine and healthcare are examined. The healthcare industry as a whole, but especially prehospital care and emergency medicine, faces a growing multimodal danger from hybrid warfare. The ultimate goal of hybrid warfare is to destabilize organizations and society by diminishing the effectiveness and capacities of healthcare as a significant strategic resource, which can be achieved through disrupting the healthcare system in a country. In this regard, emergency medicine and prehospital treatment are often targets of violence.
To lessen the damage caused by a hybrid attack, clinicians and healthcare management at all levels should understand its essential components. It is recommended that emergency rooms adopt an all-hazards strategy and the existing standards for dealing with generic threats rather than attempting to come up with whole new solutions for hybrid threats. Hybrid warfare can take many forms, and there’s no substitute for being ready to deal with its potential medical and societal repercussions in the event of an attack.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S073567572200657X
