Emergency Medical Services refers to a system of emergency health care. This health care system involves community resources and medical workers who provide instant prehospital care to victims of injury or sudden illness.
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system is activated when a person calls a telephone number reserved for emergencies. In the United States, this number is 9-1-1. Some systems have a computer that displays the telephone number, address, and name of the owner of the phone used. Such computers are especially helpful if the caller cannot speak. A trained EMS dispatcher receives the call and sends an ambulance to the scene. EMS ambulances are equipped with lifesaving medical supplies and capable of ambulance-to-hospital communication.
The system includes trained ambulance workers called emergency medical technicians (EMT’s). EMT’s are trained to provide basic first aid and to transport the victim to the nearest or most appropriate hospital. Some EMT’s are trained in advanced skills. EMT-paramedics, also simply known as paramedics, can administer lifesaving drugs, help care for heart attack victims, and provide other forms of advanced care under the guidance of an emergency room physician. EMS systems were introduced in the mid-1960’s.
