Cardiac Arrest
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen EMS medical care provided to cardiac arrest patients has changed dramatically over time. Ambulances initially functioned merely as transport vehicles, while today EMS is an integrated…
Human Resources and Employee Relations
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Human resources (HR) deal with the hiring, training, compensating, managing, and unfortunately, at times the disciplining or terminating of employees. Human resources managers are expected to…
Measuring Performance
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Computer-aided dispatch (CAD), electronic patient care records (ePCR), patient satisfaction surveys, billing systems, medical devices, etc as data collection have become more prevalent in EMS agencies,…
Air Medical Transport
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The growing air medical transport sector represents a highly visible concentration of resources. A 2007 publication estimated that in the United States, 753 helicopters (and 150…
EMS Finance
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen One of the biggest challenges involved in providing superior prehospital care is obtaining the appropriate funding to pay for it. Funding is needed for salaries, equipment,…
Capacity and Refusal of Care
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Due to the difficulty in addressing the ethics and science of determining a patient’s ability to participate in important medical decision making, it is important to…
Communications and Dispatching
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Emergency medical services (EMS) systems were developed in the early 1970s when federal resources were made available to provide for creation of the prehospital system infrastructure.1…
Ethical Practices
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen There can be no greater calling or higher standard for ethical behavior than that assumed by the physician. Our obligation to our patients is paramount and…
Physician-Patient Relationships in EMS
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Medical directors play an integral role in the care of patients in the prehospital setting. Along with the ability to have a positive impact on the…
