Marine Corps En Route Care System (ERCS): Development of Patient Treatment and Supply Requirements

Abstract

Abstract : This report is organized into six sections. Section 1, introduction; Section 2, an overview of the medical evacuation system; Section 3 references relevant doctrinal guidance used to focus the development of En Route Care System. The development of the methodology, patient treatment profiles, and medications, supplies and equipment requirements are detailed in Section 3. Section 4 reviews the SMEs' recommendations for ERCS personnel; Sections 5 and 6 present some issues and conclusions related to en route care. Current Marine Corps warfighting concepts anticipate an increasingly hostile and uncertain battlefield that will be defended by highly mobile and dispersed combat forces. Such an environment requires a reduced medical presence that responds quickly without compromising the standard of care. To achieve these goals, the Marine Corps must rely more heavily on medical evacuation and en route care, the process of providing essential medical care while transporting critically injured and ill casualties. The Marine Corps has launched an effort to develop the ERCS. Naval Health Research Center and Marine Corps Combat Development Center sponsored a conference to (1) identify the equipment and consumable supplies required to provide en route care during tactical medical evacuation, and (2) determine the skills and personnel required to provide en route care. The objectives of this paper are to provide a comprehensive understanding of the need for en route care, detail the pertinent factors shaping ERCS, and document the development of ERCS medical resource requirements. Included in this paper is a description of the en route care conference, which helped to define the clinical capability needed to provide en route care of critically injured and ill casualties during tactical evacuation.