Clinical laboratories: The practical application of a theoretical model for the early detection and initial response to a covert large-scale bio-terrorist assault with anthrax spores

The increasing threat of a bio-terrorist attack on the American public has forced changes in the rule that the United States healthcare system plays in the response to public emergencies. A covert large-scale attack with anthrax spores is one plausible scenario that local healthcare services are diligently preparing to handle. Previous research has identified that the early detection and initial response to such an attack is crucial to saving innocent lives. Local clinical laboratories will be one of the first agencies required to provide the early identification and sound the initial alarm that a covert large-scale bio-terrorist attack has occurred. In this study, the researcher performed a meta-analysis of published research articles containing keywords for the early detection and initial response to a large-scale covert attack with anthrax. The meta analysis results were used to formulate a model for the early detection and initial response for clinical laboratories. The research model was then compared to data collected from clinical laboratory administrators who took part in a semi-structured interview pertaining to the current clinical laboratory practices from various clinical laboratory settings in a Midwest city of approximately one million citizens. The research findings of this study resulted in identifying that the American public remains vulnerable to a large-scale covert attack with anthrax. This is because the traditional beliefs, standard operating procedures, and the need to make a profit dictate the clinical laboratory profession, not the increasing threat of a biological attack and the danger to the American public.