Emergency medical services (EMS) play an important role in community health care systems. Paramedics provide basic life support, deliver babies, and transport critical patients to the hospital, among other services. We observed EMS units in action to learn about their underlying human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) and found that equipment and organizational systems were often difficult to use or poorly suited to task demands. Although HF/E professionals have the knowledge and tools to improve patient safety and occupational health, HF/E research on EMS is scarce. Our observations provide a systems overview pointing to needed improvements in equipment, decision making, and organizational coordination.
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