Mobile Integrated Health Care Roles of US EMS Clinicians: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective Mobile integrated health care (MIH) leverages emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians to perform local health care functions. Little is known about the individual EMS clinicians working in this role. We sought to describe the prevalence, demographics, and training of EMS clinicians providing MIH in the United States (US). Methods This is a cross-sectional study of US-based, nationally certified civilian EMS clinicians who completed the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) recertification application during the 2021–2022 cycle and completed the voluntary workforce survey. Workforce survey respondents self-identified their job roles within EMS, including MIH. If an MIH role was selected, additional questions clarified the primary role in EMS, type of MIH provided, and hours of MIH training received. We merged the workforce survey responses with the individual’s NREMT recertification demographic profile. The prevalence of EMS clinicians with MIH roles and data on demographics, clinical care provided, and MIH training were calculated using descriptive statistics, including proportions with associated binomial 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Of 38,960 survey responses, 33,335 met inclusion criteria and 490 (1.5%; 95%CI 1.3–1.6%) EMS clinicians indicated MIH roles. Of these, 62.0% (95%CI 57.7–66.3%) provided MIH as their primary EMS role. EMS clinicians with MIH roles were present in all 50 states and certification levels included emergency medical technician (EMT) (42.8%; 95%CI 38.5–47.2%), advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT) (3.5%; 95%CI 1.9–5.1%), and paramedic (53.7%; 95%CI 49.3–58.1%). Over one-third (38.6%; 95%CI 34.3–42.9%) of EMS clinicians with MIH roles received bachelor’s degrees or above, and 48.4% (95%CI 43.9%-52.8%) had been in their MIH roles for less than 3 years. Nearly half (45.6%; 95%CI 39.8–51.6%) of all EMS clinicians with primary MIH roles received less than 50 hours (h) of MIH training; only one-third (30.0%; 95%CI 24.7–35.6%) received more than 100 h of training. Conclusion Few nationally certified US EMS clinicians perform MIH roles. Only half of MIH roles were performed by paramedics; EMT and AEMT clinicians performed a substantial proportion of MIH roles. The observed variability in certification and training suggest heterogeneity in preparation and performance of MIH roles among US EMS clinicians.