Focus will be on staffing challenges, COVID-19 impact, new measures for success, and emerging technologies
ESO, the leading data and software company serving emergency medical services (EMS), fire departments, hospitals, state and federal agencies, today shared the trends it predicts will have the biggest impact on EMS agencies in 2022: agencies will continue to face staffing challenges; COVID-19 will continue to change EMS; new measures for success will emerge; and emerging technologies will have an impact on patient engagements.
“This is a bit of a seminal moment for EMS,” said Dr. Brent Myers, Chief Medical Officer for ESO. “Organizations are facing multiple challenges this year, from staffing shortages to the impact of COVID-19 across the entire healthcare spectrum to emerging technologies changing the way medics engage with patients. It will be critical for agencies to adapt in this dynamic environment to ensure ongoing success for this year and beyond.”
Key EMS Predictions for 2022:
- EMS agencies will continue to face staffing challenges:
The Great Resignation, as it’s known, is affecting companies and organizations across the United States – no industry is immune. This holds true for EMS as well. In parts of the country, agencies are offering up to $20,000 in signing bonuses to lure would-be paramedics to the job. In addition to recruiting difficulties, there is an exodus of talent across the board (including senior talent). Many providers will look for new opportunities that are less stressful, more family-friendly, and, oftentimes, offer better pay. Agencies and departments will need to rethink models of engagement, the investment in and importance of training and education, as well as an approach to scheduling that gives providers more control over their lives. - COVID-19 will permanently change EMS – both positively and negatively
There is no denying the profound impact COVID-19 has had on our society the last 24 months, with many “temporary” solutions becoming permanent solutions as part of the new normal (such curbside pickup at restaurants). EMS has been affected deeply as well, with a number of negative impacts, including less opportunity for real-world training, and fewer staff coupled with more call volume. But there have been silver linings as well, including the increased use of telemedicine, the increase in alternative destinations for care, and the recognition that EMS data are accurate and one of the most timely sources to get a pulse on what’s happening in a particular community. - New measures for success will emerge:
The limitations of traditional performance measures, such as response times, have been illuminated. New measures of success will emerge (and must emerge) that are sustainable, realistic, and reflect current reality. There will be a much greater need for outcome data to connect patient well-being to prehospital events and data. In other words, it will be critical for EMS agencies to know what happened to patients after the EMS encounter to improve clinical practices, training, and education. This will be core to improving patient and provider care and safety. Additionally, we expect to see an increase in acute disease response from individuals that refused medical care during the pandemic. Transporting patients to the right location based on need will be far more important than response time. - Wearables and other emerging technology will have an impact:
It would be an understatement to say that technology has had (and will continue to have) a major impact on society as a whole, and healthcare in particular. With the evolution of data sources and other related technologies, 911 interaction will change. The dispatch center will become a different type of hub for first responders, leveraging multiple data sources to provide insights and information to response teams. This will include data and information from wearable devices and similar technology that tracks vital statistics and other health-related data that can be quickly transferable and inform providers across the entire healthcare spectrum of a patient’s condition and situation.
For more such updates and perspectives around Digital Innovation, IoT, Data Infrastructure, AI & Cybersecurity, go to AI-Techpark.com.
