How do emergency medical services operate in the United States?

Emergency medical services (EMS) in the United States provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and patient transport via systems regulated federally by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and more strictly by state, tribal, or local governments. Citizens typically access these services by dialing 911, which handled tens of millions of service requests in 2018 alone. Due to wide variations in geography and population density across the country, EMS organization and delivery differ significantly from one region to another.

What we know

• EMS providers in the United States are regulated at a basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with stricter oversight handled by individual state, tribal, county, and municipal governments. [2]
• People in the United States most frequently request emergency medical services by calling the 911 emergency telephone number. [2]
• In 2018, emergency medical services in the US responded to over 28 million 911 requests and exceeded 42 million total service requests when including events, air transport, and community paramedicine. [2]
• Differences in population density, climate, and topography create significant variations in how emergency medical services are structured and provided across different US states. [2]
• Emergency medical services generally provide urgent pre-hospital treatment, stabilization, and transport of patients to definitive care facilities like hospital emergency departments. [3]

Where to go next

• how it workedWhat standards do federal and state agencies set for EMS providers?
• compared withHow do emergency medical services function in the United Kingdom?
• the bigger pictureWhat is pre-hospital acute medical care?
• what caused itHow do local dispatch centers handle 911 calls?
• an unexpected connectionHow did television shows help popularize paramedics in America?

Sources

• [1]emergency medical services in the United States (Wikidata Q5370720) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Emergency medical services in the United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Emergency medical services · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Emergency! · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. How did the Byzantine Empire rise and fall?
2. /What was the role of the French colonial empire in Vichy France?
3. /How do emergency medical services operate in the United States?