A geographic information system simulation model of EMS: reducing ambulance response time

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Healthcare

Background:

• Prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) response time is a critical determinant of patient outcomes.
• Current ambulance deployment strategies may not be optimized for dynamic demand, leading to delays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model ambulance response times in Israel using a GIS.
• To develop and evaluate model-derived strategies for improving ambulance deployment and reducing response times.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of computerized ambulance call and dispatch logs in urban and rural districts.
• Geographic Information System (GIS) used to pinpoint call locations and simulate response time polygons.
• Data stratified by weekday and daily shifts to model dynamic deployment.

Main Results:

• Prior to GIS modeling, mean response times were 12.3 and 9.2 minutes, with only 34% and 62% of calls met within 8 minutes.
• Implementing the GIS-simulated deployment strategy resulted in over 94% of calls being met within the 8-minute criterion.
• Significant reduction in response times achieved in both urban and rural settings.

Conclusions:

• A dynamic, load-responsive ambulance deployment model utilizing GIS can substantially improve EMS efficiency.
• Optimized deployment strategies can increase the percentage of calls responded to within the critical 8-minute timeframe.
• Improved EMS response times have the potential to enhance patient survival rates and cost-effectiveness.