Survival rates of severely injured patients were correlated with EMS clinicians’ volume, not years of experience, in a recent UPMC and University of Pittsburgh study.
The study, published Feb. 18 in JAMA Surgery, used data from the City of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of EMS, STAT MedEvac and Linking Investigations in Trauma and Emergency Services research network. Researchers reviewed results from 3,649 severely injured trauma patients — with an Injury Severity Score of 9 or higher — treated by 359 EMS clinicians between 2017 and 2021.
Here are three findings:
1. Improved patient survival was associated with the number of trauma patients treated at the EMS clinician level — not just the hospital or agency level.
2. For every five additional patients an EMS clinician saw each year, there was a 10% decrease in the risk of mortality within six hours of injury.
3. Years of experience was not associated with any change in patient survival.
“Getting EMS clinicians more exposure to traumas seems to be the key, but we can’t just close EMS agencies and concentrate all the experience in one place — that would lead to longer wait times and worse outcomes,” senior author Joshua Brown, MD, UPMC trauma surgeon and Samuel P. Harbison Endowed Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a Feb. 18 system news release. “Supporting EMS funding, training and innovation at the community and policy level is how our findings translate into saved lives.”
UPMC outlined a few strategies that could be implemented to further improve EMS clinician skills in treating severely injured patients: developing national EMS quality benchmarking programs similar to those used in trauma centers; using AI to build staffing models that avoid parking low-volume EMS clinicians together; expanding simulation and training tools to supplement real-world experience; and creating mentorship programs between high- and low-volume EMS agencies.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.