Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

JHSPH Home

JHSPH Home

Departments

Departments

Admissions

Admissions

search corner image

  This section only
  Entire site

Deptartment of Health, Policy and Management

Instructions: Please answer the following questions regarding your EMS system as a whole. Since our goal is to learn more about EMS in your area, please be sure to consider all the agencies, activities, and components that make up your system, excluding those related to interfacility or aeromedical EMS operations.
1. First Response Agencies
The area below lists the most common types of EMS organizations, listed by primary EMS mission and grouped by the type of ownership or administration. Of the following types of EMS agencies, please indicate which types provide emergency first response (dispatch of medical personnel to scene in a non-transport vehicle) within your system. Mark the appropriate cell with “Career” or “Volunteer” to indicate your EMS system uses this type of agency and whether Career or Volunteer personnel represent the majority of providers for that type. If one agency type handles the majority (50% or more) of the call volume for your system across all types and groups, please indicate that as the “primary” agency type by selecting "Career (Handles majority)" or "Volunteer (Handles majority)" in that box. If your system does not use first responders, please select the appropriate box below.
County (includes parishes)
City (includes townships and boroughs)
District (other units of local government that are not cities or counties)
For Profit Corporation (includes partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships)
Non Profit Organization (includes non-profit associations and non-profit corporations)
State
Military
Federal (non-military)
Tribal
2. Transport Agencies
The area below lists the most common types of EMS organizations, listed by primary EMS mission and grouped by type of ownership or administration. Of the following types of EMS agencies, please indicate which types provide emergency transport (from scene to a health care facility) within your system. Mark the appropriate item with “Career” or “Volunteer” to indicate your EMS system uses this type of agency and whether Career or Volunteer personnel represent the majority of providers for that type. If one agency type handles the majority (50% or more) of the call volume for your system across all types and groups, please indicate that as the “primary” agency type by selecting the "Career (Handles majority)" or "Volunteer (Handles majority)" in that box.
County (includes parishes)
City (includes townships and boroughs)
District (other units of local government that are not cities or counties)
For Profit Corporation (includes partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships)
Non Profit Organization (includes non-profit associations and non-profit corporations)
State
Military
Federal (non-military)
Tribal
3. Of the following types of agencies, please indicate which agency types are responsible for emergency medical call taking. If one agency type handles the majority (50% or more) of the call volume for your system, please indicate that as the “primary” agency type.
A. Present Within System (check all that apply)
B. Primary Type (check only one)
4. Of the following types of agencies, please indicate which agency types provide emergency medical dispatch of response vehicles for your system. If one agency type handles the majority (50% or more) of the call volume for your system, please indicate that as the “primary” agency type.
A. Present Within System (check all that apply)
B. Primary Type (check only one)
5. Of the following types of response configurations, please indicate which are used within your EMS system. Please note that the terms ALS, ILS, and BLS are intended to represent the maximum capacity of the responding unit/vehicle to an emergency call, and not the level of care rendered.
Present Within System (check all that apply)
6. Based on percentage of total calls, what is the most common level of first response service provided by your system’s agencies? Please note that the terms ALS, ILS, and BLS are intended to represent the maximum capacity of the responding unit/vehicle to an emergency call, and not the level of care rendered.
7. Based on percentage of total calls that require patient transport, what is the most common level of EMS transport service provided by your system’s agencies? Please note that the terms ALS, ILS, and BLS are intended to represent the maximum capacity of the responding unit/vehicle to an emergency call, and not the level of care rendered.
IF YOUR SYSTEM USES FIRST RESPONDERS, PLEASE COMPLETE QUESTIONS 8 AND 9.
OTHERWISE, PLEASE SKIP TO QUESTION 10.
8. Among the areas of your system that use first responders, which of the following best describes the policy used by dispatchers to send first responders?
9. When first responders are used, how are they most commonly dispatched (based on percentage of total calls)?
10. Are there operating procedures within your system that allow vehicles to respond to calls without the use of lights and sirens, based on information received by the dispatch agency?
11. Are there operating procedures within your system that allow vehicles to transport non-emergent patients without the use of lights and sirens, based on information gathered at the scene?
12. Does your system allow providers to transport patients from the scene to non-hospital destinations (e.g. doctor’s office, urgent care center)?
13. Does your system have units that are dispatched to perform non-emergency assessments?
14. Please indicate how often your system’s emergency first response and transport agencies respond to calls beyond the boundaries of their primary service areas
First Response Agencies
Transport Agencies
15. How often do units from other EMS systems respond to calls within your own jurisdiction?
16. Please indicate which of the following types of EMS personnel are present in your system and which group represents the majority of providers? If one provider type represents the majority (50% or more) of EMS personnel for your system, please indicate that as the “primary” provider type.
Present Within System (check all that apply)
Primary Type (check only one)
c. From where do volunteers typically respond to calls while on duty?
17. Are there areas within your system where providing a timely response to incoming calls is consistently a problem?
If yes, please indicate the reasons for these response problems as well as the primary reason.
All Reasons (check all that apply)
Primary Reason (check only one)
18. How can individuals within your system access EMS (check all that apply)?
19. Please indicate how many of your system dispatch agencies offer pre-arrival instructions to callers for certain types of calls?
20. Does your EMS system have physician medical direction in place?
If yes, is there one person whose primary responsibility is medical oversight of the system on a day-to-day basis?
If yes, who is this physician primarily responsible to?
21. Thinking of your system as a whole, how is EMS financed? From the following list of funding sources, please indicate how EMS receives the funds necessary to provide its services and please indicate the primary funding source.
Present Within System (check all that apply)
Primary Source (check only one)
22. Please provide the following information about your EMS system. If you do not have the exact figure, please provide a reasonable estimate.
23. Please indicate the level with which you agree or disagree with the following statements.
Resource Levels
a. Our system is adequately staffed to meet demand.
b. Our system has enough resources (vehicles, equipment) to meet demand.
Public Participation
c. The population served by our system has a high level of EMS awareness, participation or support.
d. Defibrillators, available for public access, can be found in many public places within our system.
e. Bystanders often provide CPR prior to EMS arrival at cardiac arrest calls.
f. The public is satisfied with our EMS services.
System Support
g. Our system has a high level of physician involvement.
h. Hospitals in our system are supportive of our EMS agencies/providers.
i. Patient handoffs between agencies and hospitals are generally smooth.
j. Our EMS system / participating agencies collaborate with non-EMS organizations.
System Environment
k. “Turf wars” are a problem for our EMS providers.
l. Politics are a problem within our EMS system.
m. EMS providers enjoy working within our EMS system.
System Change
n. Our EMS system looks much the same as 10 years ago.
o. Our EMS system will look much the same 10 years from now.
p. Our system adapts well to change.

Johns Hopkins University

© 2012, Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.
Web policies, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205

interest