VEHICLE-AT-SCENE-TO-PATIENT-ACCESS INTERVAL MEASURED WITH COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH

Study objective: To determine whether the vehicle-at-scene-to-patient-access (VSPA) interval could be measured by means of crew reporting to a computer-aided dispatch operation. Design: A prospective demonstration-proof-methodology pilot study using crew reporting of access time on emergency calls. Setting: An urban, public utility model (a type of EMS system), all-ALS system. Participants: Six ambulance crews (four day and two night). Interventions: Times were collected by radio reporting. A survey was to be completed for each call. Results: Two hundred ninety-two calls met study criteria; 181 had corresponding surveys. Crew reporting compliance ranged from 52.8% to 94%. Poor radio transmission was cited infrequently as a reason for noncompliance. The median VSPA interval for all calls was 1.3 minutes (interquartile range,.8 to 2.6 minutes). Twenty-five percent of calls had intervals of more than 2.5 minutes, and 10% had an interval of more than 5 minutes. Conclusion: Our study suggests that it is feasible for ambulance crews to report patient access times. Methods to improve the consistency and frequency of crew reporting should be considered. The VSPA access interval varies in length and is not normally distributed.