NLM Resource Update: Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM)

NLM Resource Update: Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM). NLM Tech Bull. 2014 Nov-Dec;(401):b2.

[Editor's Note: This is a reprint of an announcement published on NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L, an e-mail announcement list available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services. To subscribe to this list, please see the NLM-TOX-ENVIRO-HEALTH-L Join, Leave, or Change Options page.]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has released a new version of Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM).

New or updated content in CHEMM includes:

1. updated and enhanced content on Decontamination Procedures, Discovering the Event, and Training and Education
   
2. an NIH CounterACT Program funded database with information on twenty-two medical countermeasures (including efficacy, relevant publications, research in progress, FDA and other global regulatory status information)
   
3. content for how emergency responders can recognize and handle events dealing with toxic gases generated by the combinations of consumer products or common household chemicals
   
4. a workshop report describing toxic chemical syndromes, or toxidromes, that lays the foundation for a consistent lexicon for use in CHEMM and for other uses that, if adopted widely, will improve response to chemical mass exposure incidents
   
5. a toxidromes outreach plan whose goal is to raise widespread awareness and encourage use of the toxidromes throughout the stakeholder community, and
   
6. an evaluation and validation plan for the CHEMM Intelligent Syndromes Tool (CHEMM-IST) that, once completed, will move CHEMM-IST from its current state as a prototype to a product ready for use in an operational response environment.
   

CHEMM is a Web-based resource that can be downloaded in advance to Windows and Mac computers to ensure availability during an event if the Internet is not accessible.

CHEMM content is also integrated into the NLM Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER), which is Web-based and downloadable to Windows computers. CHEMM content is also available in the WISER iOS and Android apps. The new CHEMM content will be incorporated into the next release of WISER.

For more information, see the "What's New on CHEMM?" section of CHEMM.