Taking the Pulse of Your System: Performance Measurement for Improvement

The National EMS Quality Alliance (NEMSQA) and FirstWatch present this guide to understanding and improving your organizational vital signs

Data proliferates in the modern EMS system, in myriad forms and from myriad sources. While most EMS systems are designed to provide high-quality clinical care to all patients, measuring the quality of care, as well as the overall health of the EMS system, can be challenging. This white paper, a joint collaboration between NEMSQA and FirstWatch, examines various key performance measures – including effectiveness, safety, satisfaction, equity, and efficiency – and provides considerations and best practices for deriving insight from the data.

“Taking the Pulse of Your System” examines:

• How to define “good” performance
• Important metrics to monitor
• Tips for benchmarking and comparing your performance to similar agencies
• Visualizing and presenting performance data objectively
• Identifying areas for improvement
• Creating improvement plans
• Monitoring progress
• Case studies from agencies that have used these principles to improve performance
• Relevant NEMSQA performance measures

This white paper includes case studies from Mount Sinai on how that system improved effective airway monitoring; how Albuquerque Ambulance Service discovered and addressed narcotic wasting discrepancies; and how St. Luke’s (Pa.) University Health Network used longitudinal and regional data to improve ketamine and etomidate administration for sedation and airway management during behavioral emergencies.

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