The Danish quality database for prehospital emergency medical services

• Main Authors: Frischknecht Christensen E, Berlac PA, Nielsen H, Christiansen CF
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2016-10-01
• Series: Clinical Epidemiology
• Subjects: Emergency Medical Services; Ambulance Response Times; Emergency Medical Dispatch; Quality Improvement
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/the-danish-quality-database-for-prehospital-emergency-medical-services-peer-reviewed-article-CLEP

Erika Frischknecht Christensen,1–3 Peter Anthony Berlac,4 Henrik Nielsen,5 Christian Fynbo Christiansen5 1Clinical Institute, Aalborg University, 2Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, 3Prehospital Emergency Medical Services, North Denmark Region, 4Copenhagen Emergency Medical Services, Copenhagen, 5Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark Aim of database: The aim of the Danish quality database for prehospital emergency medical services (QEMS) is to assess, monitor, and improve the quality of prehospital emergency medical service care in the entire prehospital patient pathway. The aim of this review is to describe the design and the implementation of QEMS. Study population: The study population consists of all “112 patient contacts” defined as emergency patients, where the entrance to health care is a 112 call forwarded to one of the five regional emergency medical coordination centers in Denmark since January 1, 2014. Estimated annual number of included “112 patients” is 300,000–350,000. Main variables: We defined nine quality indicators and the following variables: time stamps for emergency calls received at one of the five regional emergency medical coordination centers, dispatch of prehospital unit(s), arrival of first prehospital unit, arrival of first supplemental prehospital unit, and mission completion. Finally, professional level and type of the prehospital resource dispatched to an incident and end-of-mission status (mission completed by phone, on scene, or admission to hospital) are registered. Descriptive data: Descriptive data included age, region, and Danish Index for Emergency Care including urgency level. Conclusion: QEMS is a new database under establishment and is expected to provide the basis for quality improvement in the prehospital setting and in the entire patient care pathway, for example, by providing prehospital data for research and other quality databases. Keywords: emergency medical services, ambulance response times, emergency medical dispatch, quality improvement