Development of prehospital emergency medical services: strategies for system assessment and planning

Increasing economic capacity in the Pacific Rim has led to a greater demand for integrated pre-hospital care systems. The economic and technological growth of Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong has lead to health system developments and growth of advanced healthcare and prehospital medical services. Changing economies and population distribution of many of the Southwestern countries and island regions in the South Pacific, as well as the geographical constraints necessitate a systematic and individually tailored planning process, while standardizing communication and quality of service with more will developed neighbors. While EMS systems in such a broad geographical region may take a variety of forms, each system contains some system components similar to those found in the United States and Southwest Pacific regions such as Australia and New Zealand. In evaluating EMS abroad, it is useful to compare the developing system type to one of five models: hospital based, municipal, private, volunteer, and complex. In so doing, the appropriate model system may be constructed to accommodate the demands of an evolving system.