The Prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Subcommittee will examine prehospital EMS and include an assessment of the current organization, delivery, and financing of EMS services and systems, and assess progress toward the EMS Agenda for the Future.  The subcommittee will consider a wide range of issues, including: the evolving role of EMS as an integral component of the overall health care system, including dispatch, medical direction, and integration with trauma systems, pediatric EMS, public health, prevention, and emergency department overcrowding; EMS system planning and coordination at the federal, state, and local levels; EMS funding and infrastructure investment, including equipment, communications, new technologies, and progress toward the development of interoperable EMS information systems; EMS workforce trends and professional education; and EMS research priorities and funding.

The scope of this IOM project reflects a recent expansion through funding from additional federal sponsors. More information on the overall project can be found on the project description page.  This expansion includes the addition of members to the main committee, as well as the creation of three subcommittees: Pediatric Emergency Care Subcommittee, Prehospital EMS Subcommittee, and Hospital-based Emergency Care Subcommittee.  Three reports will be issued focusing on the subcommittee topic areas, and a fourth will be issued looking at the broad system issues, as well as linkages among the areas addressed by the subcommittees. The committee's reports are expected to be released in early 2006.

The Prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Subcommittee will meet a total of 4 times:
            June 10-11, 2004
            September 20-21, 2004
            March 2-3, 2005
            September 19-20, 2005

More information on the Prehospital EMS subcommittee and this project, including meeting agendas, can be found using the links above and to the left. Please check back for regular updates. You can also sign up for the project listserv to receive information via e-mail on upcoming meetings and other project-related news.

To provide feedback to subcommittee members and project staff through the duration of the project, please follow directions at the bottom of the project's page in the National Academies Current Projects System. Please note that any comments submitted through this website or otherwise, including your name and identifying information, will not be kept confidential and will be included in a Public Access File. The National Academies shall be authorized to use any such comments or submissions in accordance with the National Academies' Terms of Use Agreement.

Current support for this project is provided by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).