Within EMS, very little data exists about many aspects of the profession. In an effort to address this shortfall, NAEMT, in collaboration with the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Research in EMS, has developed an anonymous system for EMS practitioners to report EMS and patient safety near-miss events, line of duty deaths, and incidents of violence against EMS practitioner by answering a series of questions in an online format.
The purpose of the system is to collect and aggregate data that will then be analyzed and used in the development of EMS policies and procedures, and for use in training, educating and preventing similar events from occurring in the future. No individual responses are shared or transmitted to other parties. This reporting system is called the EMS Voluntary Event Notification Tool (E.V.E.N.T.) and is available at www.emseventreport.org.
The aggregated data collected will be provided to state EMS offices and the appropriate federal agencies with jurisdiction over EMS on a quarterly and annual basis. Timely aggregated reports submitted through a variety of venues will make E.V.E.N.T. a living mechanism for change. It is envisioned that one of the primary end users of this data will be those responsible for the development of EMS policies at the state and federal levels.
States urged to support system
Support of this online reporting tool by EMS organizations across our nation will be key to its success. State EMS offices, local and state EMS organizations, and EMS agencies are encouraged to become site partners for E.V.E.N.T. The National Association of State EMS Officials, as well as many other national and state EMS organizations, have already signed on as site partners.
Upon request, NAEMT and the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Research in EMS are able to provide representatives to speak about the system at local and national EMS meetings or conferences. Please contact NAEMT at info@naemt.org with any questions about the system.