ESO Predicts Key EMS Trends for 2020

PRESS RELEASE

Jan. 7—ESO, a data and software company serving emergency medical services (EMS), fire departments and hospitals, today shared the trends it predicts will have the biggest impact on EMS agencies in 2020: Data will continue to be at the center of care and will drive system-wide performance improvements; ongoing activity at the federal level will continue to impact EMS; the proliferation of knowledge presents unique challenges; and there will be a greater focus on a culture of safety.  

“There is a tremendous amount of activity in 2020 that will have potentially far-reaching effects on EMS agencies,” said Dr. Brent Myers, Chief Medical Officer for ESO. “Ranging from more discrete use of data to drive performance to changes at the federal level to an emphasis on provider safety, organizations will need to be flexible and plan accordingly to stay ahead of the curve.”

Key EMS Predictions for 2020:

• Data will drive system-wide performance improvements: Data will continue to play a pivotal role for EMS as agencies integrate more closely with hospitals and vice versa to drive improvements across the entire patient experience. One significant shift that can be expected is a move from mere compliance with data submission to robust use of the data for true performance improvement and research activities. In other words, there will be a system-wide performance improvement model versus simply making improvements in a silo.     
   
• The evolving federal landscape will continue to impact EMS agencies: From Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) rule changes around controlled substances to Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) pilots, activity at the federal level will potentially impact EMS agencies and organizations for many years to come. Additionally, a drug shortage problem will test federal rules around sharing and has the potential to alter the markets for generic drugs.
   
• The proliferation of knowledge is accelerating at a record pace: The Internet allows for a proliferation of knowledge through a variety of mediums, including videos, webinars, etc. In particular, podcasts are popping up that tend to be more casual and conversational in nature. Sharing of knowledge and ideas will help accelerate the industry as a whole, but it’s important to decipher fact from fiction when it comes to changing clinical practices that might be based on misguided information.
   
• There will be a greater focus on a culture of safety: With greater access to data that can drive positive patient outcomes, we will also leverage data to improve provider safety in the broadest sense. There will be a shift from placing safety responsibility on the individual provider to implementing broader systemic change to deal with response safety, burnout, mental health, and quantifying the collective effects of response to critical incidents. Evolving technology will allow organizations to look at discrete data around high-risk records instead of sifting through mounds of data looking for a needle in a haystack.  

Download the 2020 EMS Predictions whitepaper here.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the press release above belong solely to the company/vendor/author and do not necessarily reflect those of EMS World or HMP.