Maximizing the Role of Emergency Medical Services in COVID-19 Response.
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · 2021-12-20 · Other / unclear
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define 6 intervals of a pandemic: (1) investigation of cases, (2) recognition of the increased potential for ongoing transmission, (3) initiation of a pandemic wave, (4) acceleration of a pandemic wave, (5) deceleration of a pandemic wave, and (6) preparation for future pandemic waves. Each of these stages has 8 domains. Following China's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak announcement, Israel's National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization immediately began working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to address the threat of the COVID-19 outbreak. This article will describe how a national EMS organization acted according to these pandemic intervals and domains. In the initial stages, EMS managed a checkpoint in the international airport voluntarily testing people for febrile symptoms. Calls to the dispatch centers that aroused the suspicion of COVID-19 resulted in EMS transport to the hospital with protective gear. During the period of first exposure, the scope of the medical emergency number was increased to include questions concerning coronavirus, telemedicine, and home sampling by protected EMS workers. In the contagion stages, epidemiological tests were conducted by the MOH, and EMS began operating dedicated telephone triage, mass drive-through sampling, and finally, administration of vaccinations.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
COVID-19 pandemic · Dispatchers & call takers · Implementation · Telemedicine
Related articles
- Quality improvement in a crisis: a qualitative study of experiences and lessons learned from the Irish National Ambulance Service response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (BMJ Open, 2022)
- [COVID-19 Stress test for ensuring emergency healthcare: strategy and response of emergency medical services in Berlin]. (Anaesthesist, 2021)
- Inter-hospital communication and transfer practices during COVID-19 Pandemic in Karachi, Pakistan. A brief overview. (Pak J Med Sci, 2020)
- Implementation of an Emergency Medical Service-Integrated Teleconsultation Follow-Up Unit for Home-Based Patients With Suspected COVID-19 During Epidemiological Uncertainty in an Island Territory: Retrospective Descriptive Study. (JMIR Form Res, 2026)
- EMCON: A Comprehensive Emergency Response System for Low- and Middle-Income Countries. (Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2025)
- 'Every day was a learning curve': implementing COVID-19 triage protocols in UK ambulance services-a qualitative study of staff experiences. (Emerg Med J, 2025)