DALLAS–Local laws, insurance reimbursement and public misperceptions impede emergency medical services (EMS) workers from using best resuscitation practices, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Less than half of local EMS systems follow national guidelines on transporting cardiac arrest patients and terminating unsuccessful out-of-hospital resuscitation efforts, said researchers who conducted three small focus groups at the 2008 National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians meeting in Jacksonville, Fla.
Each focus group had four to 12 participants. The majority (79.1 percent) were physicians, and 66.7 percent were EMS directors at a wide variety of practice settings.
Based on the focus group analysis, researchers identified three key areas where policies or perceptions may impede local efforts to follow the guidelines for terminating unsuccessful resuscitation efforts:
