Abstract
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a growing worldwide public health concern. Previously, Japan experienced poorer outcomes among OHCA patients than in other high-income countries. In the early 1990s, through policy changes, the Japanese government introduced a task-shift model in pre-hospital care. Some medical practices previously provided by physicians exclusively were delegated to non-physicians, including laypeople. Additionally, we initiated a nationwide data collection system for evaluation. We started a nationwide registry of OHCA patients, a paramedic system to provide advanced life-support care, and basic life-support training for laypeople. In the 2000s, the procedures paramedics could provide were expanded, laypeople were allowed to use automated external defibrillators, and the Utstein style was introduced to the national registry.Consequently, pre-hospital advanced care and bystander first-aid increased, registry-based research contributed to evidence-based practices, and―most importantly―outcomes of OHCA patients considerably improved. These Japanese experiences demonstrate that streamlining pre-hospital care, including bystander interventions and standardized data collection, can improve OHCA patient outcomes. Despite this progress, however, there still exist many issues to be addressed in response to the changing and increasing care demands within Japan’s aging population.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.