Background: In Finland, approximately 40% of emergency medical service (EMS) missions do not result in transport of the patient to a hospital by ambulance, and there is wide variability in the reasons underlying non-transport decisions. The aim of this study was to describe the context of these EMS non-transport missions.
Methods: The data were collected retrospectively between 3 September and 20 October 2014 by investigating non-transport EMS charts (n = 1154). Event information and patients' main symptoms were extracted from information found in EMS charts and quantified using content and statistical analyses.
Results: Patients' need for EMS were explained by various reasons. One-third of the missions were caused by organ-specific symptoms, whereas in 30.8% of cases the reason for EMS was unspecified. Sudden onset symptoms were noted for 38.4% of the cases, whereas in 14.7% of cases the symptoms had persisted for days or weeks before EMS contact. EMS personnel offered guidance instead of treatment in 79.2% of the missions.
Conclusions: Non-transport missions represent a significant daily work load for the EMS. Although most of the symptoms showed acute onset, the majority of these missions involved only assessment of medical necessity and/or guidance without any medical treatment. It is questionable whether this use of the EMS is cost-effective for any healthcare system.
© 2018 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.