Out-of-Hospital Research in the Era of Electronic Health Records.

Conducting out-of-hospital research is unique and challenging and requires tracking patients across multiple phases of care, using multiple sources of patient records and multiple hospitals. The logistics and strategies used for out-of-hospital research are distinct from other forms of clinical research. The increasing use of electronic health records (EHRs) by hospitals and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies presents a large opportunity for accelerating out-of-hospital research, as well as particular challenges.

Prospective Validation of the National Field Triage Guidelines for Identifying Seriously Injured Persons.

Background: The national field trauma triage guidelines have been widely implemented in US trauma systems, but never prospectively validated. We sought to prospectively validate the guidelines, as applied by out-of-hospital providers, for identifying high-risk trauma patients.

Study Design: This was an out-of-hospital prospective cohort study from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 with 44 Emergency Medical Services agencies in 7 counties in 2 states.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest frequency and survival: evidence for temporal variability.

Aim: Some cardiac phenomena demonstrate temporal variability. We evaluated temporal variability in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) frequency and outcome.

Methods: Prospective cohort study (the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium) of all OHCA of presumed cardiac cause who were treated by emergency medical services within 9 US and Canadian sites between 12/1/2005 and 02/28/2007.

Community consultation methods in a study using exception to informed consent.

Objective: The most effective means of community consultation is unknown. We evaluated differences in community opinion elicited by varying means of consultation.

Methods: We compared responses with a cross-sectional, standardized survey administered as part of the community consultation for the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) hypertonic saline trial.

The random dialing survey as a tool for community consultation for research involving the emergency medicine exception from informed consent.

Study Objective: In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services enacted rules allowing a narrow exception from informed consent for critically ill patients enrolled in emergency research. These include requirements for community consultation prior to trial implementation. Previous studies have noted difficulty in engaging the community.