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Inter‐disciplinary cooperation in a physician‐staffed emergency medical system
Author(s) -
Reid B. O.,
Rehn M.,
Uleberg O.,
Pleym L. E. N.,
Krüger A. J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.13112
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency medical services , medical emergency , descriptive statistics , observational study , service (business) , emergency medicine , family medicine , statistics , mathematics , economy , economics
Background On‐scene management of pre‐hospital emergencies is often inter‐disciplinary, involving ground‐emergency medical services ( EMS ), police‐ and fire services, and in Norway general practitioners on‐call. This can also be supplemented by physician‐staffed EMS (P‐ EMS ), utilizing helicopters or rapid response vehicles. We hypothesized that P‐ EMS cooperates extensively with other emergency services, and therefore the primary aim of this study was to investigate the fraction of inter‐disciplinary cooperation between P‐ EMS and other emergency services. Methods Retrospective, observational study of primary pre‐hospital missions with patient contact performed at a Norwegian P‐ EMS base from 01.01.06 to 31.12.15. Descriptive statistics, comparisons using Student`s t ‐test, and chi‐squared test for trend were applied. Results Inter‐disciplinary cooperation occurred in 94.3% of the 8580 missions, of which physician‐staffed EMS cooperated with ground EMS in 92.4%, general practitioner 32.9%, police service 11.6% and fire service 11.8%. Trauma constituted 34.4 and cardiac arrest 14.1% of missions. The mean National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics score was 4.21 (95% Confidence Interval 4.18–4.24). There was an overall decrease in cooperation with general practitioners and the police service ( P < 0.001). During helicopter missions, we reported a decrease in general practitioner cooperation compared to an increase during rapid response car missions ( P < 0.001). In cardiac arrest cases, cooperation with both general practitioners and the fire service increased ( P < 0.001). Conclusion Physician‐staffed EMS cooperates extensively with other professional emergency services, especially ground‐ EMS . On‐scene cooperation with general practitioners decreased, whereas there was an increased cooperation with the fire service in a “first‐responder” role during cardiac arrest missions.