The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps was not able to meet some state needs and experienced deficiencies in officer preparation, deployment logistics, field operations and officer reimbursement that weakened the “efficiency and the effectiveness” of the Corps’ response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to a new report released Tuesday.

In the study, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommended that the Corps incorporate a number of changes, including more training for officers and improving the system used to contact officers for deployment .

More officers — especially nurses, mental health professionals and dentists — were needed, the report found. While most deployed officers met the Corps’ readiness standards, many lacked experience, effective training and familiarity with response plans. “Agencies were unwilling or unable to allow some officers to deploy, while logistical difficulties delayed others’ arrival in the field,” the report noted. While “confusion surrounded some officers’ arrival, . . . most field assignments were appropriate and officers felt safe at their locations,” the OIG found.

The Commissioned Corps is one of seven U.S. uniformed services and is comprised entirely of officers commissioned on the basis of their health-related training. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast, the Corps carried out the largest deployment in its 207-year history, with more than 2,100 officers working with state, local and private agencies in response to the hurricanes.

While most of those officers were equipped adequately, some lacked working communications devices and other basic tools, the report stated. Many officers personally incurred mission-related expenses and some were not reimbursed promptly, which could affect their ability to deploy to future public health emergencies, according to the OIG’s findings.

“The physical and emotional traumas suffered by the residents of the Gulf Coast require that the federal government be prepared to respond as efficiently and capably as possible,” HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said in a news release. “By conducting this review, OIG identified specific areas that, if addressed, will enable the Corps to more effectively respond to disasters.”

Other recommendations in the OIG’s report include:

• Stagger deployments to mitigate the loss of experience as officers end their tours, especially during lengthy responses.

• Improve coordination with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to establish a system for rapid deployment.

• Make sure that all deployable officers have federal government travel credit cards so they do not have to use personal accounts.

HHS Assistant Secretary for Health John O. Agwunobi concurred with the report’s findings and said its recommendations “mirror many of the preparedness and response areas we are addressing” in the department’s efforts to improve the Corps’ response to public health emergencies.

• From CQ Top Docs: OIG Report (pdf)