A new project under way at the Mount Sinai Health System aims to analyze and expand the role of the nation’s emergency medical services (EMS) to serve as a vital link in a highly coordinated system focused on the acute medical needs of the community.
The project, titled “Promoting Innovations in Emergency Medical Services,” is a collaborative effort between Mount Sinai and the UC San Diego Health System. Backed by a $225,000 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, the project seeks to eliminate the regulatory, financial, technological, and training barriers that have stood in the way of a meaningful overhaul of the nation’s emergency medical services.
“EMS should be a tool for the health care system, not just a transportation service,” says Kevin Munjal, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and co-director of the project. “Rapid changes in health care are giving us the opportunity to capitalize on this potential. Our goal is to provide a national framework that allows best practices and delivery-system reform to flourish.”
James Dunford, MD, Professor Emeritus of the UC San Diego Health System and co-director of Promoting Innovations, says, “We plan to highlight how novel EMS-based programs for delivering better care at lower cost can improve patient satisfaction, and, thus, recast EMS in a more contemporary light.”
The researchers are currently gathering information from key EMS and community health care stakeholders around the country. They plan to hold regional meetings in New York and San Diego in May, followed by a national steering committee conference in September in Washington, D.C.
“From these activities, we hope to develop a blueprint for how EMS leaders can develop and test bold new delivery models,” says Dr. Munjal. “We want to accelerate the pace of innovation in a system that is ready and eager for change.”