Abstract 231: Assessing the Effectiveness of Food Delivery Service Integration for Automated External Defibrillator Delivery in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Response Through Computer Simulation

Abstract

Background: The number of food delivery (FD) motorcycle riders in Taipei has rapidly increased. These riders often wait near popular restaurants during rush hours and could potentially act as first responders to retrieve automated external defibrillators (AED) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA). Objectives: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of integrating FD riders into the emergency medical service (EMS) system as OHCA responders. Methods: We enrolled OHCAs from the Taipei registry between 2017 and 2019. Using the Uber Eats website, a prominent FD service platform, we obtained data on FD hotspots to establish a reference point. Assumptions were made in our simulation to develop an integrated system where FD riders could participate in a crowdsourcing program. In the simulation, FD riders were assigned to respond to an OHCA within a 2-km distance by retrieving an AED or directly responding to the OHCA if bystander CPR was unavailable. We tested response rates from 10 to 100% and compared simulated AED arrival time with documented EMS response time in the registry. Results: During the study periods, 8,952 of 11,660 OHCA cases were accessible by FD riders. There were 418 restaurants clustered around 24 hotspots, and 2,050 AEDs were found within range of these restaurants (Image1). For FD-accessible OHCA cases, with simulating response rates ranging from 10 to 100%, the AED arrival time was reduced by 2.99 to 3.67 minutes. The effect was more pronounced during peak hour (Image 2). Conclusion: The results indicate that incorporating FD riders as OHCA responders into the EMS system is practical and beneficial in reducing the defibrillation waiting time for OHCA patients.