Research and Evaluation in Out-of-Hospital Emergency Medical Services

Abstract

hen people dial 9-1-1 to request assistance for a medical emergency, they expect the responding paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to provide safe, competent, and effective care. Competent practice in medicine and health care should be based on evidence that is substantiated by research. Such is far from the case for out-of-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), whose practitioners commonly utilize protocols and interventions that have limited substantiation from research. Instead, much of the EMS care delivered is based on expert opinion and consensus or has been taken directly from the hospital to the street with no investigation. The gaps in EMS knowledge and the structural barriers to filling those gaps have been well-documented. 1-3 Investigators in North Carolina have a good track record in EMS research and are working toward filling those gaps. Research in EMS in North Carolina will be even better once investigators access a new statewide population-based data system that the state Office of EMS has implemented. There are, however, many more steps to take to allow EMS research to fill the gaps in knowledge. Gaps in Knowledge