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Ambulance, fire, and police dispatch times compared with the atomic clock
E B Lerner1, A J Billittier, J E Adolf
1Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA. lerner@acsu.buffalo.edu
Prehospital Emergency Care
|January 14, 2000
Summary
Public safety answering points (PSAPs) showed significant time discrepancies compared to the atomic clock, with variations up to 551 seconds. Inconsistent time deviations suggest that systematic adjustments may not be feasible for accurate research or reviews.
Area of Science:
- Emergency medical services
- Public safety communications
- Time synchronization
Background:
- Accurate timekeeping is crucial for emergency response coordination and data analysis.
- Public safety answering points (PSAPs) in multijurisdictional areas may experience time drift.
- Variations in PSAP time can impact research, quality improvement, and medico-legal reviews.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify time differences between PSAPs and the atomic clock.
- To assess the consistency of these time differences over a one-week period.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-five ambulance, fire, and police PSAPs were contacted.
- Dispatch center times were compared with simultaneously recorded atomic clock times.
- The procedure was repeated one week later to evaluate consistency.
Main Results:
- Time differences ranged from -551 to 117 seconds in week 1 and -103 to 79 seconds in week 2.
- Mean differences were 61.2 +/- 120.3 seconds (week 1) and 36.9 +/- 33.4 seconds (week 2).
- Five centers showed time deviations exceeding 60 seconds between the two measurement weeks.
Conclusions:
- A maximum time difference of 551 seconds was observed between PSAP and atomic clock times.
- These time discrepancies may hold clinical significance for time-sensitive research and quality assurance.
- Inconsistent time deviations indicate that systematic corrections may not be reliably applied.