Mount Sinai Health System is partnering with University of California, San Diego Health System to launch a new project entitled “Promoting Innovations in Emergency Medical Services.” Supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Health Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health & Human Services, the project will support the implementation and dissemination of innovative Emergency Medical Services (EMS) delivery models. The $225k grant over two years will develop a national framework document providing guidance to overcome barriers and foster innovative models of healthcare delivery within EMS.
The Co-Project Directors of this award are Dr. Kevin Munjal, of Mount Sinai Health System in New York, and Chair of the New York Mobile Integrated Healthcare Association and Dr. James Dunford, of University of California, San Diego Health System. According to Dr. Munjal the award will “engage a diverse group of stakeholders in creating a pathway toward the widespread implementation of best practices and delivery system reforms in EMS across the nation.”
EMS Vital Link to Coordinated Health
EMS could serve as a vital link in a coordinated healthcare system focused on population health management to help identify and modify risk, assess and facilitate treatment of chronic conditions, and improve coordination of care for acute complaints. The rapidly evolving healthcare landscape provides an opportunity to capitalize on this potential. Dr. Dunford states the grant as, “a fantastic opportunity for EMS to merge imagination, sound medicine and health information technology to improve care and lower cost. Tomorrow’s innovations will likely improve domestic preparedness, increase patient access to care, decrease healthcare costs, and improve community resilience.”
Key aspects of the project include:
– A Structured Survey for Promoting Innovation.
– Collection of input from key EMS and community healthcare stakeholders from around the country.
– Regional stakeholder meetings will be held in San Diego and New York in May of 2015, with a focus on incorporating national input into overcoming local barriers to EMS innovation.
– A national steering committee to be convened in Washington, D.C. in September 2015.
– An iterative approach to drafting materials and soliciting feedback through in person, telephonic, and online encounters with stakeholder groups.
– The creation of a National Framework Document that will be a broadly representative, thoroughly vetted tool that will offer a useful pathway to harness the full potential of EMS.
Feature image credit: Tim Evanson via cc
