The Association Between Clinician Dispatch and Tasking Efficacy in Prehospital Critical Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Air Medical Journal · 2025-01-01 · Observational study
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Accurate tasking of physician-staffed prehospital critical care (PHCC) is crucial to best use this resource; however, there is mixed evidence regarding the efficacy of clinician-led dispatch. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of taskings for the emergency medical retrieval service, an air medical PHCC service in Scotland, between April 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022. The primary exposure was 1 of the following 3 dispatcher groups: PHCC clinicians, paramedics without PHCC designation, and nonclinical dispatchers. The number and characteristics of taskings were determined for each dispatch shift. Multivariable Poisson regression, including potential confounders, was used to determine the association between tasking group and count outcomes, multivariable linear regression-assessed associations with tasking time. RESULTS: In multivariable modeling, compared with nonclinical dispatch, PHCC clinicians dispatched the service 27.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.5%-57.2%) more often, resulting in 28.6% (95% CI 0.0%-66.1%) more patient encounters. PHCC clinician call time was 18.6% (95% CI 4.7%-30.5%) shorter than nonclinical dispatchers. DISCUSSION: PHCC dispatch by PHCC clinicians is associated with higher numbers of dispatches and patient contacts and shorter call times. PHCC clinician dispatch has the potential to improve service tasking. Future research should consider not only the clinical status of dispatcher but also familiarity with PHCC.
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Tags
Helicopter & air ambulance · Dispatchers & call takers · Paramedics & EMTs · Prehospital physicians · Time intervals
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