ems differents

[pikepole2]

i would like to know what rural ems agencies can do to be more efficient in the field like urban ems

[Dustdevil]

i would like to know what rural ems agencies can do to be more efficient in the field like urban ems

What do you mean by efficiency? Are you talking about operations, or medical practices?

I would be careful about assuming that urban agencies are -- by simple virtue of being urban -- the epitome of efficiency, or even more efficient than you. I have not always found that to be the case. I live in an urban community, and almost every day they call on a nearby rural community for mutual aid because the urban system is so inefficient that they cannot meet the community's needs.

Obviously (assuming you are talking about operational concerns), then the keys to efficiency are not hard to conclude. Strategically post your units and stations to allow for better coverage (the centre of the county seat town is not always the most strategic location). Greater manpower and number of units. Eliminate 24-hour shifts so you don't have to wake anybody up to make a run. Either eliminate all non-emergency commitments, or increase the number of units to assure they don't cause shortages. Implement management that places sole and primary concern on delivering EMS, and not on turning a profit. Assure your people know their territories well. Assure your dispatchers are experienced medical personnel, and not the same useless, fat hausfraus that dispatch the sheriff's department and volunteer firemonkeys.

Of course, if you are referring to medical practices, that's a different story.

By the way, the shift key is your friend. :wink:

[okmedic]

What do you mean by efficiency? Are you talking about operations, or medical practices?

I would be careful about assuming that urban agencies are -- by simple virtue of being urban -- the epitome of efficiency, or even more efficient than you. I have not always found that to be the case. I live in an urban community, and almost every day they call on a nearby rural community for mutual aid because the urban system is so inefficient that they cannot meet the community's needs.

Obviously (assuming you are talking about operational concerns), then the keys to efficiency are not hard to conclude. Strategically post your units and stations to allow for better coverage (the centre of the county seat town is not always the most strategic location). Greater manpower and number of units. Eliminate 24-hour shifts so you don't have to wake anybody up to make a run. Either eliminate all non-emergency commitments, or increase the number of units to assure they don't cause shortages. Implement management that places sole and primary concern on delivering EMS, and not on turning a profit. Assure your people know their territories well. Assure your dispatchers are experienced medical personnel, and not the same useless, fat hausfraus that dispatch the sheriff's department and volunteer firemonkeys.

Of course, if you are referring to medical practices, that's a different story.

By the way, the shift key is your friend. :wink:

Hit the nail right on the head.

[RomeViking09]

On clinicals I have been riding with 2 services, 1 is "urban" with transport times of about 10 from the back of the county. The other is a rural service transporting to the same hospitals (they do have a small ER in the other county but they send everything to bigger hospitals) with a transport time of 25 to 40. The medics in the Rural service have to do more in the truck and on scene b/c of the transport times and tend to have the better medics and EMTs in the area. With the urban service often all we do is start an IV and take vitals and call in and we are done, more than once I have been finishing up the IV as we pull up to the ER and call in from the ambulance bay.