Abstract
Measuring quality in Emergency Medical Services (EMSs) systems is challenging. This paper reviews the current approaches to measuring quality in health care and EMS with a focus on currently used clinical performance indicators in EMS systems (US and international systems). The different types of performance indicators, the advantages and limitations of each type, and the evidence-based prehospital clinical bundles are discussed. This paper aims at introducing emergency physicians and health care providers to quality initiatives in EMS and serves as a reference for tools that EMS medical directors can use to launch new or modify existing quality control programs in their systems.
Highlights
Measuring quality in emergency medical services (EMSs) is important since EMS is the practice of medicine in the prehospital setting
In the United States, EMS systems have witnessed a major transformation since the EMS program was first established in 1966 in the Department of Transportation through the Highway Safety Act
The objective of this paper is to introduce emergency physicians and other healthcare providers to the concepts of quality measurement in EMS with a focus on clinical performance indicators currently used by EMS agencies in the USA and by ambulance services in other countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia
Summary
Measuring quality in emergency medical services (EMSs) is important since EMS is the practice of medicine in the prehospital setting. The need for increased coordination in patient care and higher quality care at lower costs has made it essential for EMS agencies to have in-place quality control or quality improvement programs that rely on key performance indicators to continuously monitor the system’s overall performance and the effectiveness of the different prehospital interventions.
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