The Tägerwilen II report: Recommendations from the NATO Prehospital Care Improvement Initiative Task Force

The Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services (COMEDS) initiated the Prehospital Care Improvement Initiative Task Force (PHCII TF) to advise on how to improve prehospital care within NATO nations. The Task Force consisted of the NATO Military Health Care Working Group and its subordinated expert panels, including the Blood Panel, the Emergency Medicine Panel and the Special Operations Forces Medicine Panel.

The PHCII TF identified four key prehospital care themes for exploration: 1) Tactical Casualty Care, 2) Blood Far Forward), 3) Forward Surgical Capabilities), and 4) Prolonged Casualty Care. A consensus experimentation workshop explored the four themes, utilizing a modified Delphi technique and Utstein rotations during syndicate work, resulting in 83 consensus statements. The consensus statements were further evaluated on six criteria: actionable, measurable, urgent, interoperability, low risk/threat and impact.

The 83 consensus statements, when weighted against the six criteria, resulted in 15 recommendations, focusing on standardization of training, ensuring provision of evidence-based practices and removing legislative barriers to improve prehospital care.

The recommendations on these four themes reflect the most significant priorities in improving prehospital care, and must be incorporated in the on-going revision of NATO doctrine.