Preparedness and Response

Protecting the public from health threats involves both public health and medical preparedness. Both are essential for a population's health security and, hence, to the overall preparedness of the nation.

• Public health preparedness is the ability of the public health system, community, and individuals to prevent, protect against, quickly respond to, and recover from health emergencies, particularly those in which scale, timing or unpredictability threatens to overwhelm routine capabilities.
• Medical preparedness is the ability of the health care system to prevent, protect against, quickly respond to, and recover from health emergencies, particularly those whose scale, timing, or unpredictability threatens to overwhelm routine capabilities.

During an emergency, the public health system supports the health care system by helping to minimize illness and injuries when emergencies unfold, thus reducing the burden on the health care system.