EMS Medical Direction and Prehospital Practices for Acute Cardiovascular Events

Prehospital Emergency Care, Posted online on August 22, 2012.

The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether there is an association between type of emergency medical services (EMS) medical direction and local EMS agency practices and characteristics specifically related to emergency response for acute cardiovascular events.  For each cardiovascular prehospital procedure or practice in the 1,292 EMS agencies in nine US states, the authors compared the proportion of agencies that employed paid (full- or part-time) medical directors with the proportion of agencies that employed volunteer medical directors. The proportion of EMS agencies who reported direct interaction between emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and their medical director within the previous four weeks with the proportion of agencies who reported no direct interaction was also compared.

The study demonstrated that EMS agencies with a paid medical director and agencies with medical director interaction with EMTs in the previous four weeks were more likely to have prehospital cardiovascular procedures in place. Given the strong relationship that both employment status and direct interaction have with the presence of these practices, agencies with limited resources to provide a paid medical director or a medical director that can be actively involved with EMTs should be supported through partnerships and other interventions to ensure that they receive the necessary levels of medical director oversight.

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/10903127.2012.710718