Developing EMS Quality Indicators in Nordic Countries

Measuring EMS quality in the Nordic countries Nordic Collaboration Editor's note: Although we usually present a single piece of research in this column, this month we instead present an important article on efforts to benchmark EMS quality in Nordic countries-Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. Prehospital services are in transition in the Nordic countries, with similar trends worldwide. Increase in population, longer life expectancy and a rapidly growing elderly population increase the need for healthcare, including EMS and out-of-hospital care. The percentage of growth in the number of calls to Norway's emergency medical number, 1-1-3, has been exceeding the population increase. Healthcare services are increasingly being transferred out of the hospital setting. The ability to diagnose and treat a patient with a complex health condition in the prehospital setting demands improved qualifications for prehospital personnel. This improvement could prevent unnecessary hospitalization and improve the patient's quality of care. EMS systems provide important benefits to the public, including providing immediate medical care in response to individual health emergencies, and responding to mass casualty incidents and disasters that threaten the health and safety of the public. Despite its relevance to healthcare access and medical outcomes, EMS hasn't received the same recognition and support from policymakers as other parts of specialized healthcare or hospital services. How...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Operations Source Type: news