At first glance, it seems quite simple: an emergency call comes into RAA headquarters, an ambulance is dispatched, medics arrive on the scene, and the patient is transported to an appropriate medical facility. In reality, this chain of events is the result of a complex system that blends technology, strategic planning and clinical expertise to ensure an immediate, effective response to each and every call for help.

A Flexible Deployment Model
The process is called System Status Management (SSM). A unique approach to pre-hospital care, SSM is dramatically more efficient and more scientifically based than the deployment approach most EMS services employ. Traditionally, ambulance services have constructed stations at different locations within their service areas, with each station staffed 24 hours a day to handle calls. Staffing levels remain constant, with the same amount of ambulances and staff available at the same locations at the same times. The problem with this form of static deployment is that demand for emergency services has been proven to fluctuate dramatically according to the day of the week, the time of day, and the area of the city. As a result, there are times when the system is underused, and times when it is overwhelmed by an increase in responses.

In contrast, the Richmond Ambulance Authority's flexible deployment model ensures that the correct number of ambulances are in the right location at the time when they are needed. By accurately predicting when and where ambulances will be needed, the Authority is able to minimize response times while maximizing efficiency in the system.

Predicting Demand With Greater Accuracy
The key to SSM is the precise analysis of historical data. At regular intervals, members of the Authority use a technologically-advanced, computer-aided system to examine the previous 20 weeks worth of call data generating a temporal demand analysis. This report predicts, with more than 95 percent accuracy, exactly where and when calls will come in. With this data, the Authority determines how many units will be needed during which hours of each day, and assigns those units to the predicted locations. Unlike the traditional, station-based system, the Authority's ambulances act as their own rolling offices, posted within the areas predicted by SSM analysis. This puts them as close as possible to the patients who need them. Responding With Excellence Care begins the moment a call comes into the dispatch center. Using a set of advanced protocols, dispatchers walk callers through a phone-based triage system to determine the scope and severity of the emergency situation.

The Authority's Quality Assurance and Improvement Program monitors these calls, working with the dispatchers to ensure that they follow all protocols while providing the highest level of clinical skills and customer service possible. The results of SSM speak for themselves. Since its implementation, the Authority has responded to more than 90 percent of all critical calls in less than 8 minutes and 59 seconds while saving tax dollars by increasing efficiency.
 

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