• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2013

Purpose. Based on the comparison and analysis with those of United States, the aim of this research is to find the problems in current management, operation and future directions of emergency medical service (EMS) fund in S. Korea and to provide basic resources and appropriate measures to make a right decision in policies for EMS fund. Methods. Data from Ministry of Health and Welfare and other various sources during 1995 to 2012 were collected and analyzed. Results. From our analyses, several problems are identified in EMS fund operation. In brief, problems discerned are as follows. First, whereas the purpose and direction of EMS fund operations in United States are highlighted and focused on pre-hospital EMS system and associated infrastructures which need to be constructed, those of S. Korea are emphasized mainly on the in-hospital EMS system so far. Second, on the contrary to the fact that the EMS funds in United States are tuned to pre-hospital EMS system to provide prompt and efficient emergency care at the emergency scene of pre-hospital stage and to achieve the development, design, planning and demonstration projects for pre-hospital EMS systems, up to date, our investment of EMS funds demonstrated an excess biased inclination toward the construction of in-hospital EMS system, which is far from the realization of constructive and vital pre-hospital infrastructures. Third, while emergency medical technician is important and principal body in the management of emergency medical funds in United States, so far, no EMS funds in S. Korea existed for EMTs including the job condition, improved treatment and working environment for them. Conclusion. In conclusion, we strongly suggest that the problems pointed out must be revised and corrected. Current usage of EMS fund needs to be redirected predominatly to pre-hospital EMS system. Otherwise, unless current management and investment of emergency medical funds in S. Korea are applied and used for the vital necessities and demands of EMTs, public EMS units and private EMS units as well as related units in pre-hospital EMS system as in the cases of United States, in our consideration, they must be suspended or abolished.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.121-131
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• 2009

The purpose of EMS is to provide emergency patients with prompt and suitable emergency treatments therefore it saves their lives and makes them recover fast to return to normal. The purpose of correctional administration is to return inmates to society as sound citizens after their service by providing various correctional education, reformational programs, vocational training and etc. In this way, the aim of correctional administration and EMS is like mutual agreement by their returning to society safely. Therefore this study makes some propositions like the followings for the safety between many inmates who can have physical injury and exposure to diseases caused by particularity of subculture within correctional institutions and the staffs who work for them. It is said about efficient pre-hospital EMS through various causes of emergency situation in the correctional institution, system, manpower, facility, equipments and problems and so on. 1. Recruit the first-rate EMT(emergency medical technician) as central role of pre-hospital EMS according to each correctional institution and working terms. 2. Equip specialized transference system with symptom of patients and purpose of transference. 3. Emergency medical equipments and first-aid medicines should be equipped for field and ambulance. 4. Educate correctional officers as first responders and inmates within correctional institutions about systematic emergency treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.53-66
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• 2012

Purpose : Emergency medical services in China are increase in demand by people and under the greater pressure than ever before. So it is, necessary to advance the pre-hospital system in order to promote the development of emergency medical services. Methods : This is based on China-related articles, books, journals, reports, statistical data and other literature. Results : First, pre-hospital emergency medical care with the introduction of specialist training program should be established. Second, to strengthen pre-hospital emergency services and to develop the EMS guidelines. Third, the "120" reporting systems unification and awareness activation. Fourth, the preparation of the EMS facilities equipment system. Fifth, the rapid transport system establishment to the selected medical institutions. Conclusion : It is necessary to strengthen the emergency medical personnel at the scene, rapid transport, rapid patient triage and to improve the survival rate of the patients.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.594-605
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• 2023

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the Asia-Pacific region, and mortality rates differ between countries in the region. Systems of care have been shown to play a major role in determining AMI outcomes, and this review aims to highlight pre-hospital and in-hospital system deficiencies and suggest possible improvements to enhance quality of care, focusing on Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia as representative countries. Time to first medical contact can be shortened by improving patient awareness of AMI symptoms and the need to activate emergency medical services (EMS), as well as by developing robust, well-coordinated and centralized EMS systems. Additionally, performing and transmitting pre-hospital electrocardiograms, algorithmically identifying patients with high risk AMI and developing hospital networks that appropriately divert such patients to percutaneous coronary intervention-capable hospitals have been shown to be beneficial. Within the hospital environment, developing and following clinical practice guidelines ensures that treatment plans can be standardised, whilst integrated care pathways can aid in coordinating care within the healthcare institution and can guide care even after discharge. Prescription of guideline directed medical therapy for secondary prevention and patient compliance to medications can be further optimised. Finally, the authors advocate for the establishment of more regional, national and international AMI registries for the formal collection of data to facilitate audit and clinical improvement.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.220-228
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• 2022

Objective: glucometer is one of POCT(point-of-care testing) devices used by EMS. Accurate measurement value is important for patient decision making. Quality control is necessary for this, but most EMS are still using glucometer without quality control it. Therefore, management status and quality control status of glucometers used by 119 paramedics waswere investigated. Methods: 6 and 8 of glucometers and blood glucose test strips were submitted from 4 safety centers in 2010 and 8 safety centers in 2012, respectively. Glucometers submitted by local safety centers were analyzed in 2010 and 2012. The control glucometer, which was well managed at A University Hospital, was assumed to be accurate for at blood glucose measurement. Glucose values of various quality control materials control solutions were measured and analyzed using linear regression and Pearson's correlation test. Error rates were obtained via error tolerance range required by the 2011 ISO(International Organization for Standardization) guideline. For statistics, Excel and MedCalC programs were used. Results: mong 14 safety centers in the region, 4 centers(28.5%) in 2010 and 8 centers(57.1%) in 2012 submitted 6 and 8 glucometers. In the first evaluation in 2010, 2 out of 6(33.3%) glucometers were untestable due to error, and 45 out of 6(66.683.3%) blood glucose test strips' validity were expired. In the second evaluation in 2012, 1 out of 8(13.5%) glucometers were untestable due to lack of battery, and 2 out of 8(25%) blood glucose test strips' validity were expired. All correlation coefficients were above 0.989 in 2010 and above 0.997 in 2012. Error rates were generally high when using expired blood glucose test strips. Conclusion: Among 119 paramedics' guideline, quantity and operation status of POCT devices are well managed, but quality control is not. Therefore, it is necessary to add management status and quality control status of POCT devices to the EMS' field work guideline.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.120-125
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify clinical outcome and characteristics of trauma patients via emergency medical services (EMS). Methods: Medical records of the trauma patients visiting the emergency department were retrospectively collected and analyzed from January 2015 to June 2016 in the single institution. Of 529 registered patients, 371 patients were transported by - were enrolled. The parameters including age, gender, injury mechanism, Glasgow coma scale on arrival, presence of shock (systemic blood pressure <90 mmHg) on arrival, time to arrival from accident to emergency room (ER), need for emergency procedures such as operation or angioembolization, need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, injury severity score (ISS), the trauma and injury severity score, revised trauma score (RTS), length of stay, and mortality rate were collected. The SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) was used for the data analysis. Results: Arrival time from the field to the ER was significantly shorter in EMS group. However, overall outcomes including mortalities, length of stay in the ICU and hospital were same between both groups. Age, ISS, RTS, and injury mechanisms were significantly different in both groups. ISS, RTS, and age showed significant influence on mortality statistically (p<0.05). Conclusions: The time to arrival of EMS was fast but had no effect on length of hospital stay, mortality rate. Further research that incorporates pre-hospital factors influence clinical outcomes should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of such a system in trauma care of Korea.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined emergency medical service (EMS) transportation patterns for adult trauma patients before and after establishing a level 1 regional trauma center (RTC) and to evaluate the transportation approach after prehospital severity screening. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of trauma patients aged ≥18 years admitted via EMS to the emergency department or a level 1 RTC, 1 year before to 3 years after RTC establishment. Patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) in the patient registration system were selected. Analyses were performed to determine transportation pattern changes by comparing patients pre- and post-RTC establishment and by yearly comparisons over the 4-year study period using the Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test. Results: Overall, 3,587 patients were included. The mean ISS was higher in the post-RTC group (n=2,693; 10.63±8.90, median 9.00) than in the pre-RTC group (n=894; 9.44±8.20, median 8.00; p<0.001). The mean transportation distance (9.84±13.71, median 5.80 vs. 13.12±16.15 km, median 6.00; p<0.001) was longer in the post-RTC group than in the pre-RTC group. Furthermore, proportionally fewer patients were transported from an area in the same city as the RTC after establishment (86.1% vs. 78.3%; p<0.001). Yearly comparisons revealed a gradually increasing trend in the hospital death rate (ptrend=0.031). Conclusions: After establishing a level 1 RTC, the EMS transportation of severe trauma patients increased gradually along with the long-distance transportation of minor trauma patients. Therefore, improved prehospital EMS trauma severity assessments and level 1 RTC involvement in patient classification in the prehospital phase are necessary.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.29-38
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to provide the basic data for improvement of Emergency Medical Service System in Kwangju. The EMSS can be defined as the complete chain of human and physical resources that provides patient care in cases of sudden illness and injury. To provide effective emergency care through the EMSS in a region, the issue of training especially as it relates to EMT in EMSS delivery is more important than emergency medical equipment and facilities for pre-hospital emergency care. The transport of emergency medical patients carried out almost by 119 Emergency Medical Services. But out of all the employees at 119 EMS only 19.0% have graduated with a major in Emergency Medical Technology. It would seem prudent then that the graduates of EMT programs should gradually replace employees working at 119 EMS that do not have an EMT degree to ensure the best possible pre-hospital care for emergency medical patients. Therefore it can be expected that in the future there should an enormous demand for qualified EMT professionals to meet the growing needs for a superior level of emergency medical care for civilian.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.172-179
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• 2023

Purpose: Out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) often has a poor prognosis despite rescue efforts. Although the incidence and mortality of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have increased, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has decreased in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the prehospital setting, immediate treatment of cardiac arrest is required without knowing the patient's COVID-19 status. Because COVID-19 is usually transmitted through the respiratory tract, airway management can put medical personnel at risk for infection. This study explored whether on-scene treatments involving CPR for TCA patients changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea. Methods: This retrospective study used data from emergency medical services (EMS) run sheets in Gangwon Province from January 2019 to December 2021. Patients whose initial problem was cardiac arrest and who received CPR were included. Data in 2019 were classified as pre-COVID-19 and all subsequent data (from 2020 and 2021) as post-COVID-19. Age, sex, possible cause of cardiac arrest, and treatments including airway maneuvers, oropharyngeal airway (OPA) or i-gel insertion, endotracheal intubation (ETI), bag-valve mask (BVM) ventilation, intravenous (IV) line establishment, neck collar application, and wound dressing with hemostasis were investigated. Results: During the study period, 2,007 patients received CPR, of whom 596 patients had TCA and 367 had disease-origin cardiac arrest (DCA). Among the patients with TCA, 192 (32.2%) were pre-COVID-19 and 404 (67.8%) were post-COVID-19. In the TCA group, prehospital treatments did not decrease. The average frequencies were 59.7% for airway maneuvers, 47.5% for OPA, 57.4% for BVM, and 51.3% for neck collar application. The rates of ETI, i-gel insertion, and IV-line establishment increased. The treatment rate for TCA was significantly higher than that for DCA. Conclusions: Prehospital treatments by EMS workers for patients with TCA did not decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the rates of ETI, i-gel insertion, and IV-line establishment increased.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2013

Hospitals in Korea are enforcing a quality control over 119Emergency Medical Services to increase the survival rate of Out of Hospital Cardiac arrest patients. This study is to analyze the factors that effect the survival rate of Out of hospital Cardiac arrest patients by comparing the results of before and after the quality control enforcement. Cardiac arrest patients can be assorted into pre-decision group and decision group. The study analyzed the survival factors which was based on the adequate use of 119 BLS and ACLS usage rates, response time of 119EMS, qualification of ambulance worker, number of EMS team members, and adequate use of AED according to ECG diagnosis. The analyzation was done over total 1,233 of Cardiac arrest patients from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 After the enforcement of the quality control, the usage of Vital sign check and BLS showed a big difference. Especially, as the usage of ECG showed a significant difference, Shockable rhythm, which is the most important to Cardiac arrest patients, also showed a significant difference. After the enforcement of quality control, the performance of ACLS showed a significant difference in IV. The study showed 119 ambulance workers provided better service in Vital sign and BLS and ACLS after the enforcement of quality control. It is considered a 119 ambulance service effects the survival rate of Cardiac arrest patients. Therefore, it can increase the survival rate and it is necessary to continue a quality control.