Analysis of Emergency Medical Vulnerability and Survival Rates Following Real-Time Traffic Information

Abstract

Providing rapid access to emergency medical services (EMS) within the “golden time” for survival is important to improve the survival rate of emergency patients. This study analyzes the accessibility of EMS based on driving speed changes following real-time road traffic conditions by time to estimate vulnerable areas for EMS and survival rates of emergency patients. The key results of the network analysis based on real-time road speed and this evaluation of vulnerable areas by village level across South Korea reveal the different characteristics of urban and rural areas to access emergency medical facilities. In urban areas, road traffic congestion during rush hour delays the patients’ access time to EMS. In contrast, in rural areas, the long geographical distance to an emergency medical facility is a hurdle for receiving care from an EMS during the “golden time” because emergency medical facilities are mostly located in urban areas. The existing standard to assess vulnerable areas of EMS accessibility is based on the speed limit of roads, but the time may be underestimated because the speed limit alone does not reflect the real road conditions. The study results show that an effective way to increase the survival rate is receiving immediate first aid treatment, which means that the government should continuously train the public to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as well as install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in populated places, and train the public to use them. Reducing assess time to emergency medical centers in urban areas and providing additional manpower to help with first aid in rural areas are reasonable ways to improve the survival rate of emergency patients.