What Defines the Community Paramedic Model of Care?

Successful community paramedic programs are integrated with health, aged care and social services and benefit from strong governance and paramedic leadership. That’s the conclusion of a new review by Australian researchers who looked at a rural Canadian CP program.

The article, “Community Paramedicine Model of Care: An Observational, Ethnographic Case Study,” was written by Peter O’Meara, Christine Stirling, Michel Ruest and Angela Martin and published by BMC Health Services Research. Find it here.

O’Meara and his colleagues sought to  examine how CPs create new roles and identities in terms of flexibility and permeability, and thus define a community paramedic model of care distinct from other innovations in paramedic service delivery. 

They emerged with a model defined by the mnemonic RESPIGHT, which stands for response to emergencies; engaging with communities; situated practice; primary healthcare; integration with health, aged care and social services; governance and leadership; higher education; and treatment and transport options. 

“Community engagement and situated practice distinguish community paramedicine models of care from other paramedicine and out-of-hospital healthcare models,” the authors conclude. “Successful community paramedicine programs are integrated with health, aged care and social services and benefit from strong governance and paramedic leadership.”