[The Falck problem. Disorganization in the system with from whence to summon an ambulance].
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Because of discontinuation of base hospital participation, paramedics in a large urban zone of a California emergency medical services (EMS) system serving 1.1 million persons went on emergency standing orders for nearly all calls requiring advanced life support. Subsequently, the base hospital resumed medical control function under limited standing orders. Standing orders were allowed for calls that required rapid intervention with little probability of morbidity. The EMS agency conducted a retrospective study to compare times at scene and total prehospital care times before (control group) and after institution of standing orders and limited standing orders. There were significant differences in total prehospital care times and at-scene times between the control group and the two standing order groups (P less than .01). There are important implications to EMS systems that use extensive base hospital contact.
These four examples of technology and its relationship to pre-hospital care will be reviewed: portable defibrillators, pneumatic antishock garment, 911 systems with computer-aided dispatch, and aeromedical transport.
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The major difference between the 1983 and 1984 conferences was the increased participation of EMS-system administrators in the latter program. Although there was refinement by the conferees of the previous positions, the focus of the 1984 conference moved away from purely medical issues and towards concerns about cost/benefit analysis, organization, and governance. The triad of government officials responsible for public safety, systems administrators responsible for efficiency, and physicians responsible for medical control is balanced in different ways in different jurisdictions. Nevertheless, there is continuing convergence towards international urban EMS systems that are more similar than different.
The full benefits of thrombolytic therapy can be realized if and only if treatment is delivered as quickly as possible. Streamlining the triage system will not only increase the numbers of patients treated with thrombolytic therapy, it will ultimately reduce mortality and morbidity rates from acute myocardial infarction by limiting loss of heart muscle. Reducing the time to treatment, however, is a daunting task given that both patient and hospital delays contribute to the underutilization or inefficient use of thrombolytic therapy. In particular, patient delays can be difficult to attenuate, given that human behavior is complex and that designing interventions to change behavior is not only challenging but expensive. Results from the MITI registry show that the emergency medical system is the linchpin of an efficient triage system in that it is associated with reduced patient delays as well as reduced treatment delays. Clearly, patients with chest pain need to be aware of the need to take prompt action by calling 911. On the other hand, decisions to use these systems to acquire electrocardiograms or deliver thrombolytic treatment will be faced by increasing numbers of administrators and policy makers in the years to come. Without adequate community support to maintain and improve these systems, the full benefits of thrombolytic therapy cannot be attained.
In 2003, the Utah State Department of Health received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to develop a medical surge plan to increase the number of available hospital beds in the state by 1250 beds, including 125 beds for burn or critical trauma patients. A prior article discussed the planning procedures and process. This article describes the major components of the plan, including analysis of threats, direction and control, activation and system response; communications; and critical issues.
On January 6, 2005, the National Response Plan (NRP) was introduced to standardize a national approach for responding to natural or man-made threats. The underlying structure for the NRP is the National Incident Management System, which establishes standardized training, organization, and communications procedures that can be used by multiple jurisdictions to interact in a disaster. The NRP clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities. The NRP organizes the government's emergency operations into 15 emergency support functions, of which Emergency Support Function #8 pertains to public health and medical services. The United States Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and PHS officers can be deployed to help meet urgent public health needs when traditional mechanisms and resources are overwhelmed. The role of PHS nurses is presented.
To determine the cost of an emergency medical services (EMS) system, researchers, policymakers, and EMS providers need a framework with which to identify the components of the system that must be included in any cost calculations. Such a framework will allow for cost comparisons across studies, communities, and interventions. The objective of this article is to present an EMS cost framework. This framework was developed by a consensus panel after analysis of existing peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed resources, as well as independent expert input. The components of the framework include administrative overhead, bystander response, communications, equipment, human resources, information systems, medical oversight, physical plant, training, and vehicles. There is no hierarchical rank to these components; they are all necessary. Within each component, there are subcomponents that must be considered. This framework can be used to standardize the calculation of EMS system costs to a community. Standardizing the calculation of EMS cost will allow for comparisons of costs between studies, communities, and interventions.
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This article describes emergency medical services (EMS) systems in Connecticut, beginning with a historical perspective. The discussion of statewide oversight of the EMS system includes legislative and regulatory mandates as well as recent external reviews of the system. Medical oversight of EMS care and services is provided by sponsor hospitals rather than individual medical directors. Most of the 169 cities and towns in the State maintain or contract for local EMS, and have traditionally resisted regionalization. This snapshot of the EMS system in Connecticut can serve as a reference for comparison of EMS systems in other jurisdictions.
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When it comes to deployment, one size (approach) doesn't fit all. Progressive public safety and EMS systems will recognize that a successful plan can thoughtfully balance system performance and human needs. Inventive people who learned how to do things better, cheaper and faster built America. Providing optimum system coverage, improved response times and quality care for patients fits the same mold. Sophisticated and accountable EMS systems readily accept this as part of their mandate.
Emergency medical services for children require the integration of many community resources to operate optimally. In both urban and rural areas, the abilities of the receiving hospitals and medical staffs must be defined to develop a system that considers severity of injury and illness as well as transport times.
Without an efficient communication system through which to co-ordinate and control, even the most comprehensive accident and emergency procedure is useless. Here, George Forfai sings the praises of those generally unsung heroes, the radio amateurs who, working with the professionals, ensure that the message gets through...
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