Association Update: August 2021

NASEMSO Proposes New Approach to Linking Trauma Data 

In 2016 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report entitled A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths After Injury. In response the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO), with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sought to provide a recommendation for the linkage of record-level EMS patient care reports with hospital trauma registry records to better elucidate the “continuum of care” for injured patients. 

NASEMSO’s new joint position statement with ACS and NEMSIS, A Novel Approach to Data Linkage: EMS and Trauma Registry Records, proposes a deterministic linkage approach relying on the introduction of a universally unique identifier (UUID) assigned to each EMS record. The UUID would be generated when completing an EMS ePCR and exported to a matched trauma registry record when a hospital abstractor completes a trauma registry entry. This statement provides an overview of this approach, citing the benefits and considerations of the proposal with special reference to technical, privacy, accessibility, and data quality issues related to it. Implementation of this method would result in matched EMS/trauma registry records at the local, state, and national levels.

Find the document at https://nasemso.org/wp-content/uploads/ACS-NASEMSO-Joint-Linkage-Policy-Statement-FINAL-Version.pdf.

—National Association of State EMS Officials

DHS S&T Hosts Virtual R&D Showcase

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is convening U.S. government research organizations for the Virtual Whole-of-Government R&D Showcase, a unique four-part virtual content series that will run through August. The showcase will highlight how S&T and its partners across government are mobilizing research and development (R&D) teams to reduce risks from natural and human-induced disasters; accelerating breakthrough discoveries; and helping the nation prepare against future threats and unknowns.

The unique collaboration will demonstrate how S&T’s novel and strategic approaches to R&D are moving the country forward in areas like COVID-19 threat characterization and assessment, disaster preparedness, infrastructure resilience, cybersecurity, opioid detection, securing public transit, drone operations, and the convergence of breakthrough technologies. 

S&T will post new showcase digital content—including ebooks, partner panel discussion videos, feature articles, and more—on the showcase website at the start of each series. All content will be available on demand throughout the showcase event. Visit www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/virtual-rd-showcase.

—Dept. of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate

New Telemedicine Framework Resource for EMS, 9-1-1

Telemedicine in EMS and 9-1-1 has many potential benefits and will be a key tool to help communities achieve the vision of a people-centered EMS system described by EMS Agenda 2050. To help EMS and 9-1-1 organizations in the early stages of planning or implementing telemedicine programs, the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS brought together experts to create the Telemedicine Framework for EMS and 911 Organizations, available at www.ems.gov/pdf/Telemedicine_Framework_May_2021.pdf. 

The intent of this resource is to provide an understanding of opportunities to leverage telemedicine to deliver high-quality and cost-efficient care at the right place and right time. The framework offers suggestions for how to engage stakeholders and policy-makers and how to assess financial considerations when implementing a program.

—NHTSA Office of EMS