Quality improvement (QI)
Limited research and evidence-based information available—specific to emergency medical services (EMS)—have made it tough for the industry to evaluate and apply lessons learned for our potential shortcomings
.For this assignment, choose an article to review from the databases in the CSU Online Library. The article must have been published within the last 10 years.
Find an article about EMS quality improvement (QI) that is of interest to you. You can also research the specific topics of operations, documentation, or clinical care. Write a two-page review of the article that includes the information below.
Briefly introduce and summarize the article.
Identify the author’s main points.
What types of QI issues were addressed in the article?
Summarize types of QI programs mentioned in the article.
Why do you think QI programs are tough to implement in EMS? Identify barriers to implementing QI in EMS. Explain.
If you were tasked with implementing a coaching or mentoring program as a part of a QI initiative where you work (or somewhere you hope to work in the future), which would you choose? Why?
How does the research from this article correlate with your agency or jurisdiction (or somewhere you hope to work), and how can this research be utilized to improve the level of service provided?
Sample Solution
The article “Quality Improvement in Emergency Medical Services: An Overview” is an exploration of how quality improvement (QI) initiatives can be used to help optimize the delivery of care within emergency medical services (EMS). Through a review of existing research, the authors discuss several topics related to QI within EMS such as operations, documentation, and clinical elements.
In terms of operations, the article emphasizes the need for establishing standardized protocols for providing fast and efficient service while en route to emergencies. This includes incorporating technology such as GPS-enabled vehicles or communication devices which automatically provide responders with information on destination times or traffic conditions which previously had to be manually calculated (Krajewski et al., 2019). Implementing these types of systems can help speed up response times while also improving overall safety by reducing human error during transportation.
Documentation was another key component discussed in this article which is often overlooked yet essential for ensuring timely follow-up care or obtaining reimbursement from insurance providers. The authors note that many teams are now utilizing digital forms to capture patient data more accurately instead of relying solely on paper records (Krajewski et al., 2019). Furthermore, using artificial intelligence tools like natural language processing can help identify important details faster and reduce administrative burden caused by traditional methods (Wang & Boehmke 2020).
Overall, this article provides an overview of different ways that EMS organizations can use QI measures such as operational improvements and technological advancements in order to improve their overall performance levels when responding to emergencies. By having access to better tools and data collection processes we should be able expect better outcomes from our interventions moving forward.
