Q. Can "paper patients" be used in lieu of mock patients during an external disaster drill?
A. Organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to conduct external disaster drills with mock victims, sometimes because of a shortage of volunteers. Because volunteer victims have been injured during the course of a drill, liability concerns have increased. Many of the youth groups that were consistently involved in drills are now declining to participate. In response to the issues, the Joint Commission has allowed paper patients to replace live victims.
Paper patient drills should not be confused with tabletop drills. The simulated paper patients must be treated as if they were live patients and must therefore be processed through a variety of departments and/or services based upon their condition, diagnosis, and treatment.