Summary of the executive session on emergency preparedness and the pharmaceutical supply chain.

R esponsibility for responding to homeland terrorist attacks and other emergencies begins at the local level and is grounded in collaboration between the private and public sectors. The federal government is ready, at a state’s bidding, to assist communities quickly and in powerful ways—supplying pharmaceuticals, trained personnel, equipment, and other resources. Effective response also requires the cooperation of individual health care professionals at the local level. Among those professionals whose participation is vital are pharmacists, who possess science-based knowledge and clinical acumen and are also widely accessible. The September 11th attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the subsequent bioterrorist threat posed by anthrax challenged our nation’s medical disasterresponse system in unparalleled ways. Although the system rose to the occasion, there is ample room for improvement. These are among the key points that emerged from an executive session on emergency preparedness and the pharmaceutical supply chain that was convened by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in Bethesda, Maryland, on November 9, 2001. The session brought together more than 35 representatives from federal public health and preparedness offices, pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, group purchasing organizations, academic health-science centers, community hospitals, and health organizations. The objectives of the session were to