RECOMMENDATIONS
ii.Make innovation a part of a continuous quality improvement strategy to solve the community’s health care needs. iii. Measure and report on quality and outcomes at the population level. b. State EMS authorities / associations should: i. Enable consistent licensing and credentialing procedures. ii.Implement operational and clinical performance standards to which all agencies are held accountable. c. Hospitals / health systems / health plans should: i. Encourage collaboration across agencies within their catchment areas by: ii.Holding joint quality improvement meetings iii. Requesting regular reporting of performance metrics in a standardized fashion. d. National EMS associations should: i. Advocate for the creation of grants and funding i. Seek to share epidemiologic data with other agencies operating in the same geographic area. ii.Enable access to patient clinical information for other EMS agencies and other health care stakeholders caring for specific patients with appropriate permissions. b. State EMS authorities / associations should: i. Incentivize or require EMS agencies operating within the same trade area or geographical region to share both patient-level clinical data and population-level aggregate data. ii.Set flexible policies around the exchange of information between EMS agencies and between EMS and other community health providers. iii. Facilitate data sharing through policy development that encourages interoperability. opportunities specifically for groups of EMS agencies collaborating in the same market. 3.Sharing & Utilizing Data a. Local EMS authorities / agencies should:
1.Regionalization of Care For Time-Critical Conditions a. Local EMS authorities / agencies should: i. Work collaboratively with other EMS agencies serving a community to improve the care they collectively provide for time-critical and -sensitive injuries and illnesses such as stroke, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest and trauma. Efforts may include: ii.Developing regional protocols around treatment and transport destinations. iii. Agree on common data definitions, terminology, and metrics. iv. Work with regional health care partners (e.g. hospitals) to develop effective, comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative population-based strategies to improve care. b. State EMS authorities / associations should: i. Engage local EMS representatives in discussions around statewide protocols to reduce unwarranted variation in care. ii.Consider recognition of specialty receiving centers for time-sensitive conditions. iii. Require EMS agencies operating in the same jurisdiction to exchange clinical data. c. National EMS associations should: i. Highlight the evidence that supports regionalization of care ii.Advocate for funding to support regionalization initiatives. iii. Develop toolkits for the transition to regionalized care. iv. Work with national representatives of hospital associations and other stakeholder groups to provide guidance on best practices. 2.Work Toward a Common Purpose
a. Local EMS authorities / agencies should: i. Embrace a common mission to improve
community health and safety and implement evidence-based models of care.
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CHAPTER 5
MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
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