From the Officer’s Desk: Industry Trends 

As new trends continue to surface within the EMS industry, deciding which trend is worth adopting can be challenging. Many organizations routinely monitor trends and consider them a priority for business success.  Therefore, EMS officers must not ignore the importance of industry trends and must plan to identify, evaluate, and determine if certain EMS trends help organizations meet and exceed customer/patient expectations.

Spotting the Latest Trends   

Professionals who provide EMS services are familiar with the profession's constant evolution. Therefore, EMS officers must routinely monitor what trends are being touted as beneficial for prehospital use and should be considered for protocol. Prehospital ultrasound (EFAST), antibiotics for sepsis patients, the use of whole blood, neuroprotective Heads-Up CPR, video laryngoscopy, and telemedicine are just a few of these trends. However, when searching for new trends, the search must not be limited to the organization’s operations and patient care delivery service, but the EMS officer must also monitor trends that may have a direct impact on other organizational services and activities, such as supply chain, recruitment and retention, mental health, workplace engagement, and remote working for administrative staff. As a new EMS officer, it is important to stay on top of current trends as this will assist in deciding which trend may serve to be beneficial within their organization. So, how do you begin spotting trends that are part of the EMS industry?   

• Participate in Continuous Improvement Initiatives. Continuous improvement projects may consist of researching as it pertains to new or existing industry trends. The research may consist of gathering statistical information about a specific trend as well as obtaining experiences from those who have adopted the trend.

• Develop Relationships with Industry Leaders.  These relationships provide a constant resource that will serve as a reference for the effectiveness of certain trends. In addition, the industry leaders may share some trends that have yet to be widely disseminated within the prehospital setting.  

• Attend Industry Conferences. This is not only a terrific opportunity to learn about current trends and their outcomes, but to network with colleagues that are involved with certain trends you might be considering.   

• Read Industry Journals. Every professional, regardless of the industry, must continue to read and stay up to date with the latest trends within their industry. Industry journals serve as key resources for learning about the latest trends.  

• Social Media Sites. The use of social media may supply a valuable resource as it pertains to spotting current trends. With that said, the EMS officer must ensure that the site and information being supplied are by a well-known and reputable source, such as organizations and industries that are considered leaders in the industry.   

• Customer Surveys. The EMS officer can interview and/or review customer surveys for any developing trends. 

 Be Cautious of Trends    

After spotting new industry trends, organizational leaders may feel compelled to jump on the trend bandwagon with hopes of providing a new service or setting themselves apart from others in the industry. However, it is imperative that the EMS officer and other organizational leaders consider a few things before jumping on the bandwagon:  

• Lack of Evidence. Be cautious of trends that don’t have enough evidence-based data to support their role. The EMS officer must be patient before buying into a trend. As we have seen too often when it comes to trends, a specific trend may appear to be beneficial early on but as more data is collected it soon fades away and is no longer practical. This results in wasted time, effort, and money.  

• Not a One Size Fits All. Certain trends may appear to be beneficial for one organization and its customers; however, that might not be the case as it pertains to another organization. Some industry trends are not a one size fits all.  

• Trending Up, Down, or Sideways.  Although up trend, down trend, and sideways trend are terms primarily used in the stock market and statistical analysis, they can also be useful when considering the adoption of an industry trend. The EMS officer must be aware of whether the trend he or she is considering is up-trending, down-trending, or considered a sideways trend. If the trend is up-trending and showing validity, then it should be considered. However, if it is down trending or sideways then the EMS officer must be cautious as it pertains to its adoption.  

• The “Bandwagon Effect.” Adopting an industry trend because other organizations have done so. Just because other organizations have adopted an industry trend, as the EMS officer and organizational leader, you should not feel compelled to do so.   

 What Trend is Right for Your Organization? 

When considering the implementation of a trend, the EMS officer must thoroughly analyze how the trend will benefit the organization, how it can go wrong, and get to the root of its genesis before acting. Understanding how the trend came to be and how other organizations have benefited from it will be helpful. Before implementing a trend or parts of a trend, the EMS officer may want to consider the following:  

• What Do the Evidence and Data Tell You? When considering a trend, the EMS officer must ensure there is enough evidence and data collected demonstrating the validity and benefits of embarking on a new initiative or adjusting an existing organizational activity. Considering a trend without a thorough analysis of its efficacy may certainly fail.  

• Relevant to the Industry. The EMS officer must have a thorough understanding of how the trend will have a direct impact on enhancing the organization’s service delivery. However, it is also important and worth exploring what trends are taking place within other industries as they may prove to be beneficial within your organization. 

• Adds Value to the Organization and Customers. The EMS officer as well as other organizational leaders must consider industry trends that add value to their customers and the organization alike. I can recall reviewing a trend analysis as it pertained to the implementation of high-performance CPR and its outcomes. The department opted, because of the following trend analysis, to incorporate high-performance “Pit Crew” CPR into the cardiac arrest resuscitation protocol, and in two years cardiac arrest outcomes resulting in neurologically intact patients doubled.   

• Infrastructure. When considering an industry trend, organizational leaders must ensure that the organization has the infrastructure in place to support its implementation; for example, does the organization have enough resources to support its employees working remotely? Moreover, if certain skills are needed to support the implementation of a trend are the employees trained to support this initiative? Also, are there organizational cultural factors that will make it difficult to implement a trend; for example, some organizational members refuse to embrace the following trend.  

• External Influences. There may be times when you may have to consider implementing a trend as a result of an external force placed upon the organization; for example, during the recent pandemic there was a significant trend toward not transporting non-emergent patients to the hospital but referring them to their local practitioners or urgent care centers. This trend continues today even post-pandemic with the use of prehospital telemedicine and other triage protocols. Another example of external forces driving trends was the accreditation of Stroke Centers. As more hospitals received accreditation for different levels of Stroke Care, a trend began to emerge where EMS providers were being trained to assess for large vessel occlusive Strokes in the field.  This has become part of many EMS protocols across the country and benefits the customers they serve. 

Trends are vital to any organization, but it’s choosing the trends that add value to the organization and meets or exceeds customer expectations that must be the primary focus. Implementing or adjusting a current organizational activity to meet the latest industry trends sends a message that the organization is willing to be progressive and is committed to seeking ways to deliver better service to its customers.