Designing and executing a functional exercise to test a novel informatics tool for mass casualty triage

The testing of informatics tools designed for use during mass casualty incidents presents a unique problem as there is no readily available population of victims or identical exposure setting. The purpose of this article is to describe the process of designing, planning, and executing a functional exercise to accomplish the research objective of validating an informatics tool specifically designed to identify and triage victims of irritant gas syndrome agents.

During a 3-year time frame, the research team and partners developed the Emergency Department Informatics Computational Tool and planned a functional exercise to test it using medical records data from 298 patients seen in 1 emergency department following a chlorine gas exposure in 2005.

The research team learned valuable lessons throughout the planning process that will assist future researchers with developing a functional exercise to test informatics tools. Key considerations for a functional exercise include contributors, venue, and information technology needs (ie, hardware, software, and data collection methods).

Due to the nature of mass casualty incidents, testing informatics tools and technology for these incidents is challenging. Previous studies have shown a functional exercise as a viable option to test informatics tools developed for use during mass casualty incidents.

Utilizing a functional exercise to test new mass casualty management technology and informatics tools involves a painstaking and complex planning process; however, it does allow researchers to address issues inherent in studying informatics tools for mas casualty incidents.