EMS: The Missing Link to the Healthcare Solution

Most physicians see the healthcare patient journey beginning at the ER ambulance bay doors. Is this why we are in the mess we’re in? The healthcare system has historically been slow to recognize the importance of the prehospital environment, but this is changing. As we struggle with overburdened emergency rooms with prolonged wait times, escalating provider burn-out, and inappropriate utilization of EMS and ER services, the solution is right in front of us. Leveraging strengths within our emergency dispatch systems, EMS system, and emergency rooms would fix much of what ails our healthcare system nationally. The problem is that we aren’t effectively communicating together. Nor do we fully understand how these crucial stakeholders in our healthcare system depend upon one another.