Advancing EMS Systems

This vision for a more people-centered EMS system was the culmination of two years of input from hundreds of people across the EMS system as well as members of the public. This link includes the final report, a one-page infographic summarizing the vision and six guiding principles that support it, and several videos about the project.

The widely cited EMS Agenda for the Future examines three decades of learnings and presents a unifying vision for the future of EMS.

A brochure that summarizes the EMS Agenda for the Future.

An implementation guide for the EMS Agenda of the Future.

This 2004 report presents a national consensus vision for a Trauma System Agenda for the Future.

The EMS Education Agenda describes a consensus vision for EMS education systems of the future and defines its components.

This 2004 report presents the vision of the Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future.

This updated version of the National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines was released through a cooperative agreement between NASEMSO and NHTSA.

This single page graphic poster/flyer shows national statistics pertaining to first responders, motor vehicle crashes and trauma, and encourages continuous improvement to the country's emergency care systems

A useful guide for EMS system leaders to use to improve quality within their organizations, using the Malcomb Baldrige Quality Program as a model.

Provides general guidance, references and ideas for conducting a systematic assessment of the processes and personnel supporting IFT and how they can be enhanced to provide optimal delivery of care.

This template is designed for EMS medical directors, administrators and organizations whose job it is to make decisions about adoption of medical devices and information technology.

Based on a survey of EMS officials in nearly every state and territory, the 2020 National EMS Assessment provides a national overview of EMS systems across the U.S., building on the previous 2011 national assessment. The study, conducted by the National Association of State EMS Officials through a cooperative agreement with NHTSA, includes information such as the number and types of EMS organizations across the country and who staffs them.

This project, the result of a recommendation from the National EMS Advisory Council, brought together key EMS stakeholders in 2019 to talk about the nomenclature used to describe the EMS profession. This report briefly summarizes the vigorous discussions, which addressed issues that strike at the heart of what the profession is, and what it will become.

Commissioned by FICEMS and funded through NHTSA, the 2011 National EMS Assessment gathered data from local and state EMS agencies about the state of EMS in the U.S. The report examined more than 200 data points, one of the most comprehensive studies of the nation’s EMS system ever undertaken.

Description: A survey periodically conducted by NHTSA asks respondents about topics ranging from seat belt use to emergency medical services. This Traffic Tech, released in 2020, includes responses about reasons people placed emergency calls and willingness to pay additional fees for improved EMS equipment and training.

This report, released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, presents a vision for a national trauma care system driven by the aim of zero preventable deaths after injury. It also recommends ways to ensure lessons learned from the military are translated into the civilian system.

This report is the result of a two-year effort funded by NHTSA and other federal agencies to provide a framework and guidance to help the EMS profession overcome barriers to innovation at the local and state level. The authors are responsible for the contents of the final document.

Released in 2017, this whitepaper examines the impact that pre-hospital emergency response has on mortality rates on the country’s highways and interstates, particularly in rural states.

This 2015 paper provides a broad review, analysis and identification of opportunities for the EMS community to address digital technology developments and offerings.

This whitepaper explores the concept of an essential service as it relates to EMS and considers the pros and cons for States and localities of implementing EMS as such. It also examines the characteristics of a public good in economic theory as they relate to EMS systems.

Released in 2015, this document describes the regulatory and oversight framework for helicopter air ambulance operations that state EMS planners should consider in developing regulations to help ensure patients receive appropriate medical attention and care.