Chief medical officer's role pondered.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge is the Department of Homeland Security's first chief medical officer, but questions remain on what roles the leader of the newly created office will undertake if the nation should come under a biological attack.

"You have a great title, but chief of what?" asked Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security's management, integration and oversight subcommittee at a recent hearing.

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff created the chief medical office last July to coordinate medical preparedness activities inside the agency and between other departments such as Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Disease Control. It is part of the DHS' new preparedness directorate. Prior to creating the position, DHS had no centralized medical structure.

Runge, a physician before entering public service, became the department's first chief medical officer after leading the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for four years.

Runge told congressional leaders that he will provide "direct and unfiltered medical advice" to the secretary and develop a strategic plan for filling gaps in the department's medical readiness plan. During his first month on the job, he sat in on several interagency meetings preparing for a potential flu pandemic. His office will also be tasked with examining DHS' medically related grants to state and local governments.

Meek and others on the committee were skeptical that Runge could fulfill his duties with a $2 million per year budget and a staff of 10. He will have no authority or role in Project Bioshield, a $6 billion, 10-year HHS program designed to boost research and create effective countermeasures to potential domestic biological attacks, Meek pointed out.

While the role of the chief medical officer is still a work in progress, Runge said, he can be a voice for the medical community inside DHS. He also would like to implement plans to educate the public on biological disaster preparedness. At the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, he was responsible for taking the "Click it, or Ticket" safety-belt campaign nationwide.

Meek warned Runge that the public would need a clear and unified message if a biological disaster should strike. Recent cases of terrorism alerts proved confusing when different parts of the government sent different messages. "We don't want people pointing in 10 separate directions when it comes to lights, camera, action," Meek said.