Absence of Good EMS Information

"... Even today, EMS systems vary in their ability to collect patient and systems data and to put these data to use. In addition, no means currently exists to easily link disparate EMS databases to allow analysis at local, state, and national levels." ¹

NEMSIS will allow us to link EMS databases from across the nation and share the information. This will allow for:

• Improved analysis of EMS procedures and patient care
• Comparison of data across jurisdictional and state boundaries
• Better evaluation of the EMS role in health care

Business Structure & Management Assistance

“A modern EMS system relies on access to data to manage the health of the system and make informed decisions.” ¹

NEMSIS will provide a business model for the EMS community. This model will help develop:

• Protocols that are justified by factual evidence
• Budgets that can be defended by actual data
• A method to analyze performance of EMS agencies
• State-to-state comparison models
• Benchmarks for standards of care

NEMSIS would:

• Facilitate reimbursement processes
• Provide useful information for determining national fee schedules and reimbursement rates
• Facilitate cost–benefit analyses
• Help provide links with patient outcomes for financial analysis

NEMSIS would allow agencies to:

• Determine areas for potential policy intervention
• Provide data to justify new policies or support existing policies
• Provides a basis for ongoing funding support

Education - EMS Training & Curricula

“The absence of a national EMS database has been a significant impediment to the structuring of a coherent national EMS education system… implementing a national EMS education system will provide invaluable support to data-driven decision making.” ¹

NEMSIS will promote the importance of EMS in the health care system by:

• Providing a better understanding of EMS
• Improving the quality of EMS curriculum
• Modifying the national EMS education system

Evaluating Patient & EMS Outcomes

NEMSIS will help providers and agencies:

• Establish reliable outcome measures
• Monitor EMS systems
• Determine which treatments are effective
• Assess which EMS system configurations are useful
• Identify and Reduce Errors
• Identify Unmet Needs & Priorities
• Focus on data driven decision making
• Evaluate patients throughout the spectrum of care

Evaluating Resources for Disaster and Domestic Preparedness

Photo Courtesy of the FEMA Photo Library

NEMSIS will provide opportunities for improvement of current disaster policies, procedures, and preparedness by:

• Providing further analysis tools for FEMA and other organizations
• Providing more opportunity for disaster research

Facilitating Research Efforts

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
      — Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

NEMSIS will provide access to a national EMS database, which will:

• Identify national trends
• Provide a large sample of standardized data
• Allow opportunities to generate research hypotheses
• Facilitate national benchmarking