Accessing your risk level The big question for communities is, “How much is enough response security?” This can be restated as, “What is an acceptable risk level?” These two questions have an inverse relationship. You can’t know what constitutes enough response security unless you know your necessary baseline risk level. To determine an acceptable risk […]
Building a comprehensive scorecard for EMS systems One of the challenges we face in EMS is measuring how well our overall EMS system and the various processes within it are performing. Several recent columns have addressed the issue of measuring EMS performance on ACS/STEMI cases (EMS Insider October 2011 and March 2012). This time, a […]
In the post-9/11 world, many businesses and organizations have become engrossed in the debate over whether we’re prepared for the next terrorist attack, large-scale natural disaster or who-knows-what kind of major incident. For emergency response organizations, the abundance of funding sources from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds and similar agencies provide new options […]
Leadership lessons for a new service delivery model There are clear indications that things will be different for EMS as U.S. healthcare moves toward accountable-care organizations (ACOs) and other innovative delivery models. Regardless of the election results this fall, some form of healthcare reform is looming. EMS is clearly moving toward a future with higher […]
Building a STEMI Scorecard In my October 2011 EMS Insider column, I outlined an Utstein-style process for categorizing and measuring outcomes for patients taken to the cardiac catheterization lab. The article included two types of metrics: process and outcome metrics. Process metrics show how well the processes that are presumed to contribute to better outcomes […]
Ask any EMS system in the U.S. about the quality of their performance, and almost invariably, one of the first benchmarks discussed is response time. But is that truly a measure of system quality? More importantly, does response time (RT) even matter in patient outcomes? How did response times become the predominant measure of system […]
When tough choices need to be made to balance an EMS organization’s budget, the training line item is too often the target. Cuts to this line item rarely involve corresponding reductions in the hours of training that must be covered, the required certifications to be earned, or the staff and equipment needed to practice and […]
The concept of community paramedic (CP) is not new. CP programs are intended to address critical shortages of healthcare providers in underserved areas, primarily but not exclusively located in rural and remote areas. Various CP initiatives are underway across the globe, generally funded with grant dollars. In parts of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, […]
It’s been 7,358,400 minutes, 122,640 hours and 5,110 days since I stood, shivering, on a front porch in suburban Denver, and rang the doorbell. It was 2 a.m. on Dec. 15, 1997. The weather was cold and clear. Colorful lights and festive decorations outlined most of the houses on the street in anticipation of the […]
The public information officer (PIO) may just be the most important, under-appreciated job in all of EMS. Indeed, it’s a job that can be more significant than the chief and one that could do more benefit if staffed properly. In an age of around-the-clock news cycles, citizen journalists and anyone having the ability to post […]
App Store Links
EMS Insider Newsletter
Inside Current Issue
Implementing a Health Information Exchange
Documentation Differences
SARS-Like Virus a Global Threat
Recall Alert
EMS Admin and Leadership
- Metropolitan Medical Directors Share Protocols on Ebola Practices and Procedures
- Editor-in-Chief A.J. Heightman Gives Specs for his Ideal Ambulance
EMS News
- Child in Cardiac Arrest on Boston Flight
- Two Killed in Landslide in Switzerland
EMS Training
- Cleaning the Rig’s Invisible Enemies
- Powerful Labs Help Students and Educators
EMS Featured Articles
- How EMS in Rural Methow Valley, Wash., Coped with a Devastating Wildfire
- 2014 JEMS Salary & Workplace Survey