ICEMA Statewide EMS Data Repository

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) and Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) worked together to create a statewide data repository for the collection and reporting of EMS data. The initial purpose of this project was to create a standardized statewide repository of EMS data. It was designed to provide a cost effective way to collect EMS patient care and hospital trauma data, allow access to a records management system for smaller Local Emergency Medical Services Agencies (LEMSAs) that could not afford their own system and support a mechanism for the reporting of information to the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) for national benchmarking. In the end, the effort established a cooperative relationship between five governmental agencies that joined together to solve a common problem. It established a statewide EMS data repository, standardized data collection throughout California and broadened the number of counties reporting data to the state. Overall, it resulted in the addition of one and a half million records documenting patient care in 18 counties. This is good, not only for the patients within those jurisdictions but also to the LEMSAs who are responsible to monitor and improve the patient care that is rendered in their jurisdictions.