Emergency Medical Services Professionals' Attitudes About Community Paramedic Programs.

Introduction: The number of community paramedic (CP) programs has expanded to mitigate the impact of increased patient usage on emergency services. However, it has not been determined to what extent emergency medical services (EMS) professionals would be willing to participate in this model of care. With this project, we sought to evaluate the perceptions of EMS professionals toward the concept of a CP program.

Airway management in the air medical setting.

Background: Airway management is a key component of air medical care for seriously ill and injured patients. This meta-analysis of the prehospital airway management literature explored the pooled air-medical placement success rates for oral endotracheal intubation (OETI), including rapid sequence intubation (RSI) and drug-facilitated intubation (DFI), nasotracheal intubation (NTI), blind insertion airway devices (BIAD), and surgical cricothyrotomy (SCRIC).

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search for all English language articles reporting success rates for airway procedures performed in the prehospital setting.

Teaching emergency medical services management skills using a computer simulation exercise.

Introduction: Simulation exercises have long been used to teach management skills in business schools. However, this pedagogical approach has not been reported in emergency medical services (EMS) management education. We sought to develop, deploy, and evaluate a computerized simulation exercise for teaching EMS management skills.

A meta-analysis of prehospital airway control techniques part II: alternative airway devices and cricothyrotomy success rates.

Background: Airway management is a key component of prehospital care for seriously ill and injured patients. Oral endotracheal intubation (OETI) is the definitive airway of choice in most emergency medical services (EMS) systems. However, OETI may not be an approved skill for some clinicians or may prove problematic in certain patients because of anatomic abnormalities, trauma, or inadequate relaxation.

A meta-analysis of prehospital airway control techniques part I: orotracheal and nasotracheal intubation success rates.

Background: Airway management is a key component of prehospital care for seriously ill and injured patients. Although endotracheal intubation has been a commonly performed prehospital procedure for nearly three decades, the safety and efficacy profile of prehospital intubation has been challenged in the last decade. Reported intubation success rates vary widely, and established benchmarks are lacking.

Street Smart. Understanding the context of emergency medical services communication and documentation.

HIM professionals can expand their understanding of the healthcare continuum by becoming more familiar with hospital emergency care and documentation.

Estimates of cost-effectiveness of prehospital continuous positive airway pressure in the management of acute pulmonary edema.

Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in managing prehospital acute pulmonary edema in an urban EMS system.

Methods: Using estimates from published reports on prehospital and emergency department CPAP, a cost-effectiveness model of implementing CPAP in a typical urban EMS system was derived from the societal perspective as well as the perspective of the implementing EMS system. To assess the robustness of the model, a series of univariate and multivariate sensitivity analyses was performed on the input variables.