ESO Predicts Key EMS Trends for 2023

AUSTIN, TX—ESO, a leading data and software company serving EMS, fire departments, hospitals, state and federal agencies, on January 26, 2023, shared the trends it predicts will have the most impact on EMS in 2023: applicant pools will decrease; mobile integrated health will play a bigger role in patient care; clinical innovations will resurface in 2023; and technology and data will drive improved patient outcomes.

“COVID-19 pulled EMS clinicians in many different directions, but in 2023 we may begin to see clinical innovations resurface as providers look at ways to improve patient care and outcomes,” said Brent Myers, chief medical officer for ESO. “This is already playing out across the U.S. as EMS organizations innovate on things like implementing whole blood usage in their communities and adopt evidence-based approaches regarding alternative responses as well virtual and non-hospital destinations for the variety of patients we are encountering in the post-pandemic era.”

Key EMS Predictions for 2023

Applicant pools will decrease while pandemic pressures persist. Staffing concerns will continue to be an issue for agencies in 2023. Smaller applicant pools will mean greater competition amongst organizations to hire (and keep) qualified clinicians. Additionally, to hire candidates quickly, some agencies will offer large signing bonuses at the expense of the agency, skewing the organizational economics with higher costs and no additional revenue. Also signing bonuses for new employees may lead to retention issues for current employees—further exacerbating the problem.

Mobile integrated health will play a much bigger role in patient care. With staffing issues continuing to be a challenge in 2023, we are seeing an increase in community paramedicine initiatives to better match patients with appropriate resources and decrease responses and hospital transports where appropriate. However, while models of success continue to occur in isolated pockets, the events of the public health emergency and post-pandemic planning offer an opportunity for more sustainable, widespread solutions. The most important consideration for successful mobile integrated health programs is the funding structure. There is a need for the bigger private payers (in addition to Medicare and Medicaid) to play a larger role when it comes to novel funding mechanisms to support transport to alternate destinations, use of telemedicine, and in-home care.

EMS providers will fill critical health care gaps through clinical innovations. Throughout COVID-19 in 2020, 2021, and early 2022, clinical innovation was focused on the pandemic as agencies provided care and support to their communities, as well as provider safety and well-being. In 2023, we will see a return to broader clinical innovation as the role of EMS evolves. One clinical topic garnering discussion across the industry is the use of whole blood in the field vs. blood components. Additionally, EMS will take on a greater role when it comes to patients experiencing overdoses, including offering patient recovery programs and identifying hotspots in the community to create proactive programs vs. being reactive. EMS will continue to also fill the gap in the mental health care system, especially for patients affected by social determinants of health—such as food deserts, housing inequality, and more.

Technology and data will drive improved patient outcomes. Hospital outcome data will continue to be essential for improved patient care across the health care spectrum. As more hospital systems and EMS agencies leverage state-of-the-art technology to share data and insights across the entire patient journey—from 9-1-1 call to hospital disposition—clinical, operational, and quality changes will result in health and safety improvements for both patients and providers. Examples of this include episodic data meshing getting better, but challenges remain for linking patients across the encounter and places where they receive care.

Download the 2023 EMS Predictions white paper here.