February 16th, 2010

On January 6^th 2010, Blair Bigham, Paramedicine Investigator for Rescu attended Ambulance Safety Conference hosted by the National Association of EMS Physician (NAEMSP). Here is an excerpt from his article "Top 5 Things Learned from Ambulance Safety Conference".

1) Researchers do not really understand much about ambulance safety; little data is available to guide interventions that make EMS safer for providers, patients and the public. Adverse event databases are desperately needed to shed light on the problems that are faced daily.

2) Adverse events, like vehicle crashes and medication mistakes, occur because a myriad of contributors align at once. These contributors can relate to physical design, the environment, policy and processes, human factors, cultural norms and individual behaviors. This is also true for workplace injuries caused by poor ergonomic design.

3) A learning culture that embraces safety is key to moving the ambulance safety agenda forward: as EMS professionals, it is incumbent on us all to report adverse events. As administrators, regulators and medical directors, it is vitally important to support and praise providers who self-report adverse events and to discourage blame-and-shame cultures.

4) Ambulances in North America are designed poorly compared to those of Europe and elsewhere. Purpose-built vehicles that are designed for the job providers do each and every day are needed in today’s vehicle market, and EMS agencies should seek out well-designed vehicles when making purchase decisions.

5) Improving ambulance safety will require the collaboration of a large and mixed group of professionals, including EMS providers, EMS administrators, EMS physicians, automotive engineers, federal and state regulators, and EMS safety researchers.