June 1st marked the first official day of the 2010 hurricane season. Experts are predicting one of the strongest seasons on record. In its 2010 hurricane season forecast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts as many as 23 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, with three to seven becoming strong enough to be classified as major hurricanes. In anticipation of a very busy hurricane season – and with the intent of providing the maximum support possible - Rx Response wants to assist states in their efforts to prepare for the busy months ahead.

Rx Response is a no-cost information-sharing and problem-solving consortium for the private-sector biopharmaceutical supply system, and our mission is to ensure that critical prescription medicines are available to patients in need during emergencies. Rx Response’s reputation as a valued resource has grown considerably over the last few years, and is now a well-established central and trusted information-sharing portal for the biopharmaceutical supply system, disaster relief organizations, and relevant government agencies. Our collective resources are immense, and our services should prove beneficial to state emergency response efforts for states affected by hurricanes.

Rx Response's Value to State Partners

Specifically, Rx Response offers the following valuable services:

Pharmacy Status Reporting During Emergencies
Rx Response and its partners publish known pharmacy openings in disaster affected areas. This information can be used to direct citizens to known open pharmacies, which will help enable continued access to essential medicines—for treatment of injury or illness caused by the event, as well as continued supply of essential day-to-day medicines to patients for the duration of the emergency.

Pharmacy Status Reporting Overview and Example Map

Pharmacy Status Reporting FAQs

Situation Reporting on Biopharmaceutical Impacts
A basic situation report is updated on this page (see the box in the upper right side of the page) during a time of Rx Response activation. As a more detailed and informative situation report is maintained within the private Rx Response information-sharing forum, State Emergency Management representatives may request access to the site by completing an access request form for InfoCenter.

Example Situation Report

Information Requests for the Biopharmaceutical Supply System
State Emergency Management Agencies may submit information requests to Rx Response if they identify a need for information related to the biopharmaceutical supply chain which Rx Response may be able to answer.  An example information request can be found below.   State Emergency Management representatives interested in submitting an information request may request access to the InfoCenter by completing an access request form for InfoCenter.

Example Information Request

Liaison During Exercises and/or Emergencies
If State EOCs make a request for an Rx Response representative at their Operations Center, this liaison will be better able to coordinate response activities between the SEOC and Rx Response program, reaching out to all potential contacts/representatives at the EOC who may benefit from interacting with Rx Response (e.g. Public Health representative, Logistics representative, etc). This helps take the pressure off of the states to communicate pertinent public health information out to all involved parties and enables these individuals to fully utilize Rx Response tools to address any barriers to patient access to critical medicines.  To request an Rx Response State liaison, send an email to alerts@rxresponse.org.