This study represents a first attempt to classify a subset of time-to-dispatch in a 911 center – the call prioritization time. This time is defined as the time required to gather critical case information, after the address is obtained, and prior to notifying responder units of the call. This study characterizes call prioritization time in nine different 911 centers, all using the Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS). Times were examined by individual agency, overall. This was a retrospective, non-controlled, descriptive study involving nine 911 and by FPDS...
Emergency dispatchers are exposed to potentially traumatic events at rates that likely exceed that of emergency first responders. Although not physically present at the time of the incident, it is likely that this repeated exposure in concert with highly stressful work conditions could lead to potentially negative emotional and physical outcomes. To date few studies have examined rates of stress related pathology and subsequent impairment in emergency dispatchers. The following study takes an initial step to investigate rates of Acute Stress Disorder, Secondary Traumatic Stress and...
The extent of fire emergencies in our communities is of great concern, not only to the public, but to the nation's fire departments, whose role is not only to respond to them, but to mitigate and, even earlier, to prevent them. The variety of types of fire-related emergencies reported to 911 is of significant interest to this ongoing mandate. The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution of calls handled using a Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS™) in the studied agencies. This was a retrospective and non-controlled descriptive study...
Time-to-dispatch in a 911 center continues to be a topic of much discussion in public safety. This study represents a first attempt to classify a subset of time-todispatch, call prioritization time, the time required to gather critical information prior to dispatching the call. The study characterizes call prioritization time in two Police dispatching agencies by determining overall median call prioritization time for all Chief Complaints (CCs) in the agencies studied, then by determining specific call prioritization times for the top five most commonly-used CCs...
This study examined the distribution of the MPDS® Chief Complaint protocols and determinant codes assigned by the EMD as eligible for nurse triage, as well as the distribution of the Chief Complaint protocols contained in the Emergency Communications Nurse System™ (ECNS™) secondary nurse triage process, as determined by the emergency communications nurse (ECN). Protocol distribution was also examined by patient gender. This study characterized protocol and gender distributions to provide a better understanding of the types of patients and their associated...
Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of human disease, with 25.8 million Americans affected. It is estimated that 7 million (27%) of these patients are still formally undiagnosed. Diabetes can cause chronic or sudden signs and symptoms, which often result in observers calling 911 for assistance. The Emergency Dispatcher's interpretation of these calls affects dispatch triage and pre-arrival patient care. To determine the relationship between the EMDs' assigned Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) determinant codes and patient severity indicators as determined by paramedic (or EMT) on-scene...
Emergency dispatch is a relatively new field, but the growth of dispatching as a profession, along with raised expectations for help before responders arrive, has led to increased production of and interest in emergency dispatch research. As yet, no systematic review of dispatch research has been conducted. This study reviewed the existing literature and indicated gaps in the research as well as potentially fruitful extensions of current lines of study. Dispatch-related terms were used to search for papers in research databases (including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMCARE, SciSearch, PsychInfo...
Telephone triage and advice services continue to be an integral part of health-care service delivery models in many countries. Research in this area has increased since the early 1990s, with a surge of research being published in the late 1990s and again in the late 2000s. This paper presents a scoping review of the telephone triage and advice service research to explore some of the most pressing questions related to how telenursing is researched and practiced, as well as how telenursing may complement emergency dispatch services. Methods: Five electronic...
911 centers receive a wide variety of calls for police-related incidents. Using the Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS®), a 911 Emergency Police Dispatcher (EPD) categorizes each incident with a specific Chief Complaint (CC) and prioritizes the case using a systematic alpha-numeric coding matrix. The wide variation in CC types and specific codes assigned can profoundly affect staffing and resource deployment decisions made by law enforcement agencies. However, the frequency of specific call types and priority levels in the PPDS has not been studied formally to date. The objective of...
Central to the effectiveness of prehospital care is the ability of emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs), to rapidly categorise '999' calls and subsequently facilitate the dispatching of appropriate emergency ambulance personnel. There are many factors which affect productivity and/or performance in a work setting. These include shift work and experience. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) uses a structured, symptom- and incident-based protocol to triage emergency '999' calls. To our knowledge, factors potentially affecting compliance with this system have not been assessed in the UK...
