Medic Emergency Medical Svc history

1984—The Emergency Medical Services for Children program is established.

1988—NHTSA implements a statewide EMS technical assessment program that evaluates systems based on 10 components:

In 1989, the Office of Technology Assessment released a report detailing the challenges faced by rural EMS (United States Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1989) (see the discussion of rural EMS below).

1991—The Utstein style for uniform reporting of cardiac arrest data is introduced.

1993—The Institute of Medicine’s Emergency Medical Services for Children report spotlights the United States healthcare system’s weaknesses in addressing the emergency needs of pediatrics.

In 1995, through the urging of then NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez, NHTSA and HRSA commissioned a strategic plan for the future EMS system.

In 1996 the EMS Agenda for the Future was drafted, which further connected the EMS with the other medical professions.

Prior to 1997, San Francisco’s EMS system fell under the jurisdiction of the public health department, with the fire department providing first-responder support.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 1999 creates the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, aka the Gilmore Commission.

Gausche M, Lewis RJ, Stratton SJ, Haynes BE, Gunter CS, Goodrich SM, Poore PD, McCollough MD, Henderson DP, Pratt FD, Seidel JS. 2000.

More recently, in 2001, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) released a comprehensive study of local EMS system needs and of the state regulatory agencies responsible for improving EMS outcomes.

2002—Publication of Medicare’s revised national ambulance fee schedule results in reduced payments for many services.

When hospital EDs go on diversion status, ambulances may have to drive longer distances and take patients to less appropriate facilities (GAO, 2003). Fully 45 percent of EDs reported going on diversion at some point in 2003, and the problem was especially pronounced in urban areas.

In 2004, 9-1-1 call centers fielded approximately 200 million emergency calls, including medical, police, fire, and other calls.

TABLE 2-2 EMS-Related Fiscal Year 2005 Federal Funding

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Web-Based Encyclopedia. [Online]. Available: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov [accessed January 1, 2006].

2008—The National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC) first meets.

2009—Release of the National EMS Education Standards.

2012—Congress allocates the key D Block segment of the broadcast spectrum to public safety, clearing the way for FirstNet.