Report Examines Nationwide Impact of COVID-19 on EMS Agencies and Personnel
ESO, the leading data and software company serving emergency medical services (EMS), fire departments, and hospitals, recently announced the findings of its2020 ESO EMS Index: COVID-19 Special Edition.The Index is based on data from more than 2,000 EMS agencies nationwide that are part of the ESO Data Collaborative. The report looks at a number of measures, including 911 call volume; personal protective equipment (PPE) use and reuse; vital sign documentation, including temperature and pulse oximetry; and hospital diagnoses. Data used for the Index are from 4.1 million 911 calls from January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020.
“COVID-19 continues to affect our nation and has a significant impact on our healthcare system and people,” said Dr. Brent Myers, Chief Medical Officer for ESO. “With the information from the ESO Data Collaborative, we are able to identify specific COVID-19 trends affecting frontline health and public safety responders and providers – especially around 911 calls and whether patients are refusing transport, how and when providers are using PPE, if we are closing the data loop with hospitals, and how we are documenting vital information.”
Key Findings Include:
- Total 911 Calls Dropped…for a Bit:Overall, we noticed a decrease in total 911 call volume since early January 2020 by as much as 18 percent through the end of April. Motor Vehicle Crash calls, in particular, experienced a significant drop, down by 40 percent. However, this trend began reversing in May and we continue to see an upward trajectory.
- Cardiac Arrest Spikes:已经观察到了院外心脏骤停的数量大幅增加，特别是在COVID-19病例增加的地区。2020年4月，与上一年相比，EMS对心脏骤停的反应率为36％。
- 穿透伤: While warmer months are often associated with a rise in penetrating trauma (such as stabbings and gunshot wounds), the rate of increase appears higher in 2020 compared to the previous year.
- Questions remain about PPE usage:In up to 20 percent of patients with documented COVID-19 disease at the receiving hospital, there is no documentation of appropriate PPE usage in the EMS patient care record.
- Opioid Overdose Calls are Up：在2020年1月1日至2020年7月31日之间，阿片类药物过量反应增长了30％。这些数字在5月和6月的数字增加了约41％和53％。
- Linked Hospital Outcomes Provide Valuable Information:《 Covid-19特定诊断法》于4月1日正式实施，并为EMS提供商确定其哪些患者已确认诊断为符合HIPAA的自动化机制。这还允许对趋势的人群级别的监视，并帮助社区计划下一步。
迈尔斯补充说：“到目前为止，我们还没有经历大流行，在未来几个月中，对数据的及时分析将至关重要。”“我们将继续监视COVID-19的情况，有助于将数据转化为可行的信息。改进的PPE使用情况，脉搏血氧饱和度和患者温度是更好地告知我们所有人的简单步骤。此外，还需要继续进行有关医疗评估安全性问题的社区教育。”
The2020 ESO EMS Index: COVID-19 Special Editioncan be downloaded这里.
