Access performance in an emergency medical service system

Data obtained from two different sources (the Illinois Trauma Registry and the Illinois Department of Transportation) are combined in an analysis of the relative performance of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) "access components". Access components are defined to include: discovery and notification; dispatch of help; and transportation. Results show that the majority of EMS incidents occurred near a care facility and encountered reasonable access delays. However, a number of "problem incidents" were identified which incurred long access delays despite close proximity to a care facility. Further results indicate the "problem incident" delays are due to the non-transportation components of the EMS access system.