Paramedic Clinical Consults with a Paramedic or Nurse in an EMS Communications Center Compared to Traditional Online Physician Consults.

Objectives: In many emergency medical services (EMS) systems, a direct medical oversight physician is available to paramedics for mandatory and/or elective consultations. At the time of this study, a clinical support desk (CSD) was being implemented within the medical communications center of a provincial EMS system in addition to the physician resource. The CSD was initially staffed with a registered nurse or an advanced care paramedic.