From ImageTrend Connect: EMS Trends Across the Nation

Much attention has been paid to the effect of the COVID pandemic on 9-1-1 medical calls. A just released, wide-ranging industry report is shedding light on how the U.S. public accessed the EMS system during COVID, as well as over the last three years.

ImageTrend’s Douglas Butler Jr. and Morgan Anderson presented highlights of ImageTrend’s Collaborate Report and shared key insights on how it can improve patient care, agency efficiencies and industry knowledge during the virtual ImageTrend Connect conference July 20, 2021.

The Collaborate Report is a three-year (2018-2020) retrospective analysis that encompasses more than 17 million prehospital EMS incidents across the nation, said Anderson. This opt-in, de-identified dataset spans various themes, including COVID-19, traffic-related events, behavioral health, alcohol and suspected drug use, pediatric patients and more. Findings are designed to inform public health issues, provide insights into call volumes and outcomes, and identify quality benchmarks in EMS.

Highlights of the report included:

• Overall EMS incident call volume decreased 22% from January 2020 to April 2020, presumably as a result of the COVID pandemic on healthcare utilization. 71% of EMS incidents were 9-1-1 response with patient contact made (excluding scenarios such as interfacility transport).
• Patients aged 65-84 accounted for 30% of all EMS incidents over the scope of the report. Patients over 85 accounted for an additional 10%.
• From 2018 to 2020, 9-1-1 responses and community paramedicine decreased in percentage of requests for EMS service type, while interfacility transports rose.
• There was a 67% increase in field death pronouncements from April 2019 to April 2020.
• Vehicle accidents accounted for just 5% of 9-1-1 incidents over the three-year span, countering the popular notion of EMS responding to road accidents frequently. There was a 30% decrease in traffic-related 9-1-1 incidents in 2020 compared to 2019—again, likely because of COVID’s impact on travel, Butler said.
• Almost one-third of behavioral health incidents were self-harm or suicide-related. “Maybe this is an opportunity for special training or education to handle these incidents, because it accounts for such a high percentage [of calls for EMS service]” said Anderson.
• The number of alcohol-related 9-1-1 incidents decreased in 2020, while suspected drug-related incidents increased.
• Pediatric patients (17 years and younger) accounted for 6% of all 9-1-1 incidents over the three-year period. 79% of all pediatric incidents involved transport. Pediatric incidents decreased by about 30% throughout 2020, seemingly because of decreased participation in school, sports and social activities.

“2020 was an interesting year,” Butler said in reference to the pandemic, as illustrated in the data of the report. “EMS is evolving. We are stronger, we are learning, and it’s impacting how medicine is performed.”

Download the full report at imagetrend.com/collaboratereport