249549 Pediatric Emergency Care Capabilities: An Assessment of EMS Agencies and Hospitals in the United States in Key Performance Measure Areas

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 5:10 PM

Michael Ely, MHRM , Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Kent Page, MSTAT , Department of Pediatrics / National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Patricia Schmuhl, BA , Department of Pediatrics / National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Andrea Genovesi, MA , National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Craig Hemingway, EMT-I , Department of Pediatrics / National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Don Vernon, MD , Department of Pediatrics/Critical Care, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Lenora Olson, MA, PhD , Intermountain Injury Control Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
     
Background: The federal Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program was established to ensure that children receive appropriate medical care in emergencies. To assess its goals, the EMSC Program gathers data from EMS agencies and hospitals nationwide regarding selected measures of performance in pediatric emergency care. Methods: EMS agencies were surveyed regarding the availability of online and offline pediatric medical direction and ambulance equipment. Hospitals were surveyed regarding the existence of written agreements and guidelines for the transfer of pediatric patients to higher levels of care. Data were collected between April 2010 and February 2011. Results: 4,938 EMS agencies and 1,829 hospitals representing 40 states responded to the survey. For EMS, 87% of Basic Life Support (BLS) and 90% of Advanced Life Support (ALS) agencies report availability of pediatric online medical direction. Sixty-five percent (65%) of BLS and 89% of ALS agencies report availability of offline medical direction. Twenty-one percent (21%) of BLS and 34% of ALS ambulances carry all of the nationally recommended pediatric equipment. For hospitals,60% have written agreements to transfer pediatric patients needing higher levels of care to other hospitals, and 39% of hospitals have guidelines that include all eight components regarding patient transfer recommended by the EMSC Program. Conclusions: This national snapshot shows that some areas of pediatric emergency care are well implemented, but improvement is needed in other areas. Deficiencies in the availability of medical direction, ambulance equipment, and transfer agreements and guidelines could negatively impact pediatric patient care and need to be addressed.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Explain the purpose of the federal EMSC Program and the performance measures developed to assess program goals. Describe the results of nationwide surveys to EMS agencies and hospital emergency departments assessing progress in performance measure areas. Discuss the need to link the availability of resources to patient outcomes to better understand potential impact on patient care.

Keywords: EMS/Trauma, Pediatrics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I direct a resource center for the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program and I oversee the collection and analysis of the data used for this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
See more of: Injury Control and Emergency Health Services