Nordic-Baltic EMS benchmarking-important progress but fragile data foundations

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Data Science

Background:

• The Nordic-Baltic EMS Network aims for comparable quality indicators and benchmarking.
• Recent reports promote transparency, but data validity remains a concern, particularly in Denmark and Norway.
• Current efforts face challenges due to non-standardized data collection and definitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight data validity issues within Danish and Norwegian emergency medical services (EMS).
• To emphasize the need for standardized, validated data for meaningful cross-country benchmarking.
• To advocate for the development of robust prehospital registry infrastructure.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data collection practices in Danish and Norwegian EMS.
• Review of proposed indicators in the 2025 Nordic-Baltic EMS report.
• Identification of limitations in current EMS data systems for research and benchmarking.

Main Results:

• EMS data in Denmark and Norway are collected under varying definitions, complicating comparisons.
• Operational data from disparate systems (ePMR, dispatch) require extensive processing.
• Lack of integrated prehospital registries in both countries limits longitudinal analysis and benchmarking.

Conclusions:

• Reliance on operational EMS data introduces uncertainty into benchmarking efforts.
• Validated, registry-based EMS data systems are essential for reliable quality assessment.
• National prioritization and network support are needed to establish sustainable EMS data infrastructure for improved patient care.