[Changes and developments in emergency medical services: key challenges for rescue management]

Emergency medical services (EMS) and pre-hospital rescue management in Germany as a whole are currently confronted with numerous challenges. In the last decade, the number of calls has risen in almost every EMS area, resulting in a significant increase of ambulance provision. However, human resources management is becoming increasingly difficult and technical and medical requirements are rising steadily. Increasingly, voices are calling for a fundamental reform of emergency care.The aim of this article is to give an overview of the current developments, trends and future challenges in order to illustrate the requirements for present and prospective rescue management. Different topics and areas of action were identified using a non-systematic literature search. The requirements for rescue management are brought together iteratively.The challenges facing EMS are versatile and complex, as are the demands on its management. The heterogeneous and small-scale organisational structure of emergency medical services in Germany poses a major challenge for reform processes. The lack of scientific competencies in EMS also complicates process optimisation. The increasing academisation and research in this field are to be welcomed.