Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and healthcare providers worldwide rely on each other to protect the public's health ― especially during emergencies, disasters, and disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vital link between CDC and the healthcare partners they serve, from raising awareness of emerging health issues to promoting the latest life-saving guidance.
The Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) and Health Alert Network (HAN) team at CDC acts as a bridge between experts across the agency and diverse clinical professionals.
Commander Ibad Khan (United States Public Health Service), who leads the COCA and HAN teams at CDC, answers questions about their mission, approach to communicating with clinicians in times of uncertainty, and lessons learned from more than 15 years of emergency response work.
Describe the COCA and HAN team at CDC.
The COCA and HAN team focuses on emergency preparedness and response communication tailored to healthcare professionals. Our work serves physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, paramedics, veterinarians, and epidemiologists; health department officials; and public information officers at federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local levels.
Our team liaises with experts at CDC to produce content and trainings that cover a host of emergency preparedness and response topics, such as influenza, severe weather and natural disasters, and infectious disease outbreaks.
