Managing NEMSIS Transitions Requires Simplicity, Training & Extensive Planning

“How do we know we’re doing well? What should we be improving?” Anyone involved in the delivery of EMS asks these questions. They lead to more detailed questions like: “What’s our time to STEMI alert? Stroke alert? Taking a 12-lead? What indicators should guide us to transport to a Level 1 (or Level 2, 3, 4) trauma center?” We also continually ask, “And are we in need of improvement in any area?” Answering these questions requires data—on your own performance and  on what other agencies are doing. It’s that comparative data that sheds light on areas of improvement. Since about 2003, 52 U.S. states and territories have contributed to the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of EMS. The roots of the effort trace back into the 20th century, and extend from dedicated professionals attempting to produce the standardized data needed to answer these life and death questions. The EMS community of professionals, administrators and software vendors have come a long way in implementing this system that collects records and assembles a database of standard data. The important thing is that we can all draw on that data for research, benchmarking and creating the initiatives to improve processes and outcomes. The NEMSIS standard itself has improved over time and one key operational aspect of that evolution is the need to transition from one version of the standard to the next. Co...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Documentation & Patient Care Reporting Operations Source Type: news