Guidelines for Pediatric Emergency Care Facilities

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-537
Author(s):  

Emergency care for life-threatening pediatric illness and injury requires specialized resources including equipment, drugs, trained personnel, and facilities. The American Medical Association Commission on Emergency Medical Services has provided guidelines for the categorization of hospital pediatric emergency facilities that have been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).1 This document was used as the basis for these revised guidelines, which define: 1. The desirable characteristics of a system of Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) that may help achieve a reduction in mortality and morbidity, including long-term disability. 2. The role of health care facilities in identifying and organizing the resources necessary to provide the best possible pediatric emergency care within a region. 3. An integrated system of facilities that provides timely access and appropriate levels of care for all critically ill or injured children. 4. The responsibility of the health cane facility for support of medical control of pre-hospital activities and the pediatric emergency care and education of pre-hospital providers, nurses, and physicians. 5. The role of pediatric centers in providing outreach education and consultation to community facilities. 6. The role of health cane facilities for maintaining communication with the medical home of the patient. Children have their emergency care needs met in a variety of settings, from small community hospitals to large medical centers. Resources available to these health care sites vary, and they may not always have the necessary equipment, supplies, and trained personnel required to meet the special needs of pediatric patients during emergency situations.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 735-735
Author(s):  

To reduce the morbidity and mortality of critically ill and injured children, comprehensive care must be provided. This includes effective services and treatment from the onset of the illness or injury through definitive care. Pediatricians should counsel families not only about prevention of disease and injury but also about access to pediatric emergency care resources in their region. If the interval between recognition of illness and delivery of care is to be reduced to a minimum, a prehospital protocol must be established. Parents as well as prehospital care providers must be knowledgeable about their community's prehospital protocol for life-threatening illness or injury. Primary care pediatricians need to establish networks with hospital-based pediatricians, emergency physicians, pediatric surgeons, and other pediatric medical and pediatric surgical specialists so that there is clearly assigned responsibility for provision of pediatric emergency care.1 When available, a pediatric surgeon should take charge of the child with multiple traumatic injuries. Optimally, the pediatric emergency care delivery system will be comprehensive and designed to meet the unique needs of children. The specific objectives of an emergency medical services for children (EMS-C) system should remain constant even though available resources may vary from region to region. For an EMS-C system to be most effective, practitioners need to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experience necessary to provide essential life support for ill and injured children. Many regions currently have well-developed emergency medical services (EMS) systems with outstanding capability and sophistication but most have been designed to meet the needs of adults.2


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc-David Munk

AbstractAmerican Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies largely have been untouched by the dramatic health care reform efforts underway, although change seems imminent. Clarifying the role of the modern EMS system, and the yardsticks used to evaluate its performance, will be a challenge.This paper introduces the concept of value (or outcomes to cost ratio) in EMS, and offers value assessment as a means by which reform decisions can be framed. The best reform decisions are those that optimize both costs and outcomes. This includes: (1) attention to the patient experience; (2) disallowing the provision of unhelpful, harmful or disproven prehospital care; and (3) expanding patient dispositions beyond Emergency Departments. Costs of care will need to be tracked carefully and acknowledged. Value generation should serve as the goal of ongoing EMS reform efforts.Munk MD. Value generation and health reform in emergency medical services. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(2):1-4.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke Piedmont ◽  
Anna Katharina Reinhold ◽  
Jens-Oliver Bock ◽  
Janett Rothhardt ◽  
Enno Swart ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Many countries face an increased use of emergency medical services (EMS) with a decreasing percentage of life-threatening complaints. Though there is a broad discussion among experts about the cause, patients' self-perceived, non-medical reasons for using EMS remain largely unknown. Methods The written survey included EMS patients who had≥1 case of prehospital emergency care in 2016. Four German health insurance companies sent out postal questionnaires to 1312 insured patients. The response rate was 20%; 254 questionnaires were eligible for descriptive and interferential analyses (t-tests, chi2-tests, logistic models). Results The majority of respondents indicated that their EMS use was due to an emergency or someone else’s decision (≥84%; multiple checks allowed); 56% gave need for a quick transport as a reason. Other frequently stated reasons addressed the health care system (e. g., complaints outside of physicians’ opening hours) and insecurity/anxiety about one’s state of health (>45% of the respondents). “Social factors” were similarly important (e. g., 42% affirming, “No one could give me a ride to the emergency department or doctor’s office.”). Every fifth person had contact with other emergency care providers prior to EMS use. Respondents negating an emergency as a reason were less likely to confirm wanting immediate medical care on site or quick transports compared to those affirming an emergency. Patients using EMS at night more often denied having an emergency compared to patients with access to care during the day. Conclusion The study identified a bundle of reasons leading to EMS use apart from medical complaints. Attempts for needs-oriented EMS use should essentially include optimization of the health care and social support system and measures to reduce patients’ insecurity.


1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 67-69
Author(s):  
Nancy L. Caroline

I should like in these remarks to try to place the discussions of this Congress in a larger perspective and perhaps to broaden somewhat our concept of what constitutes a medical emergency, and what should be labelled as a disaster. I should also like to ask whether emergency care and disaster planning as we usually think of these activities are either affordable or useful when viewed in a global context. What are the day-to-day emergencies and major disasters of this planet, and are we addressing them properly with the emergency medical services systems as now constituted?


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin Young ◽  
Jennifer Horton

“Treat and release” and “treat and refer” protocols or practices refer to the onsite treatment of patients by responding emergency medical services personnel that does not involve transporting patients to health care facilities for additional assessment and treatment. The goal of these protocols is to allow patients to be released from care or to be referred directly to non-emergency services by emergency medical services personnel when appropriate, diverting patients from emergency departments. One health technology assessment that included a relevant randomized controlled trial and economic evaluation and 2 non-randomized studies were identified for inclusion. These studies examined treat and release or treat and refer protocols for treating hypoglycemia and exertional heat stroke, and for attending to older people following a fall. Overall, the clinical evidence summarized in this report suggests that treat and release protocols are as good as, or better than, usual care (i.e., onsite treatment of immediate medical care followed by transportation to health care facilities). Across most reported outcomes, there were no significant differences between patients who received care using treat and release or treat and refer protocols, and those who received usual care; however, there were some instances where the use of these protocols was associated with improvements in some clinical outcomes, such as patient satisfaction, risk for future falls or fractures, and some measures of repeat access to health care services. Findings related to the cost-effectiveness of treat and refer protocols were inconclusive because of the limited generalizability of the findings from the included economic evaluation. The economic evaluation estimated that implementing a treat and refer protocol for older patients who experienced a fall did not result in significant changes to health care resource utilization and did not generate improved health-related quality of life compared to usual care. No evidence-based guidelines regarding the use of treat and release protocols for patients requiring emergency medical services were identified.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 650-657
Author(s):  
Sunkaru Touray ◽  
Baboucarr Sanyang ◽  
Gregory Zandrow ◽  
Isatou Touray

AbstractBackgroundThe Gambia is going through a rapid epidemiologic transition with a dual disease burden of infections and non-communicable diseases occurring at the same time. Acute, time-sensitive, medical emergencies such as trauma, obstetric emergencies, respiratory failure, and stroke are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among adults in the country.ProblemData on medical emergency care and outcomes are lacking in The Gambia. Data on self-reported medical emergencies among adults in a selection of Gambian communities are presented in this report.MethodsA total of 320 individuals were surveyed from 34 communities in the greater Banjul area of The Gambia using a survey instrument estimating the incidence of acute medical emergencies in an adult population. Self-reported travel time to a health facility during medical emergencies and patterns of health-seeking behavior with regard to type of facility visited and barriers to accessing emergency care, including cost and medical insurance coverage, are presented in this report.ResultsOf the 320 individuals surveyed, 262 agreed to participate resulting in a response rate of 82%. Fifty-two percent of respondents reported an acute medical emergency in the preceding year that required urgent evaluation at a health facility. The most common facility visited during such emergencies was a health center. Eighty-seven percent of respondents reported a travel time of less than one hour during medical emergencies. Out-of-pocket cost of medications accounted for the highest expenditure during emergencies. There was a low awareness and willingness to subscribe to health insurance among individuals surveyed.Conclusion: There is a high incidence of acute medical emergencies among adults in The Gambia which are associated with adverse outcomes due to a combination of poor health literacy, high out-of-pocket expenditures on medications, and poor access to timely prehospital emergency care. There is an urgent need to develop prehospital acute care and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the primary health sector as part of a strategy to reduce mortality and morbidity in the country.TourayS, SanyangB, ZandrowG, TourayI. Incidence and outcomes after out-of-hospital medical emergencies in Gambia: a case for the integration of prehospital care and Emergency Medical Services in primary health care. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(6):650–657.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-174
Author(s):  
Jane F. Knapp

Emergency Medical Services for Chi (EMS-C) must be recognized as a public responsibility; the "market" cannot be relied on to produce the kind of planning and cooperation required to make services available to all who need them.1 The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Emergency Medical Services For Children. Each year millions of American chi become seriously ill or injured. If you have ever encountered a child who did not receive the medical care they needed or deserved under these circumstances you understand what EMS-C is all about. The familiar adage, "Children are not small adults," emphasizes that their care must be an integral part of a system not an afterthought once the adults have been addressed. The achievement of the desired level of competence for EMS-C in the larger system is hampered by many factors. These include lack of organization, equipment, training, and a tack of understanding of the child's unique problems and needs. In response to these needs, Congress approved a demonstration grant program in 1984. The purpose of the program was threefold: to expand access to EMS-C, to improve the quality available through existing Emergency Medical Systems (EMS), and to generate knowledge and experience that would be of use to all states and localities seeking to improve their system. Continuing interest prompted the formation of the Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medical Services by the IOM. This 19-member committee Chaired by Dr Donald N. Medearis, Jr released their report in the summer of 1993. The IOM report entitled Emergency Medical Services for Chi is available in both a soft cover 25-page summary and the full text (see Appendix).


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1409-1415
Author(s):  
Lucas Oliveira J. e Silva ◽  
Jana L. Anderson ◽  
M Fernanda Bellolio ◽  
Ronna L. Campbell ◽  
Lucas A. Myers ◽  
...  

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