Doha, Qatar: Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has announced that its Emergency and Disaster Preparedness (EDP) Index has been recognised as a Leading Practice by the Health Standards Organization (HSO) for the first time. HSO, a globally respected entity headquartered in Canada, collaborates with leading experts and individuals with lived experiences to develop standards, assessment programs, and quality improvement solutions. This prestigious recognition underscores PHCC’s EDP Index in Qatar as a critical and replicable tool for primary care organizations worldwide, enhancing their readiness for emergencies and disasters.
The EDP Index supports the Sustainability and Resilience objective, strengthening PHCC’s disaster resilience to ensure sustained operations during a crisis and serving as a force multiplier for the Ministry of Public Health during public health emergencies. Through its meticulous application, PHCC has significantly enhanced its understanding of preparedness and achieved notable improvements, moving closer to its target readiness score. The EDP Index is a comprehensive organizational assessment tool involving 585 criteria derived from internationally recognized emergency preparedness regulations and best practices, including those from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Health and Human Services (HHS), World Health Organization (WHO), Accreditation Canada International (ACI), The Joint Commission (TJC), National Fire Protection (NFPA),.