Preparing for the next health crisis

Public health emergencies are certain to happen but are unpredictable in timing and form. Nevertheless, government entities at all levels must be prepared to respond effectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed multiple preparedness shortcomings across government that had significant downstream impacts, including wasted time, energy, and resources, as well as confusion created by conflicting or inconsistent public directives. None of this was due to a lack of effort or commitment; tireless public servants made monumental efforts to respond to the crisis at hand. The shortcomings were structural. The solution must be too.

Thankfully, there is a well-defined and tested approach to institutionalizing public health preparedness—embedding preparedness as a consistent, prioritized function into government entities at all levels so they can better handle the next emergency, whatever form it may take.

In this white paper, “Preparing for the next health crisis: What federal HHS leaders can do now,” we detail the KPMG approach, including the steps involved and the benefits governments can realize as each step is implemented. While it focuses specifically on the role of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), its lessons are germane to any agency.

Download the white paper today and set your agency on the path to achieving target public health preparedness standards.