Definition
Trauma Scene Time: The Trauma Scene Time is a 90th-percentile measure of the number of minutes that EMS remains on the scene with a patient who meets physiologic or anatomic criteria for transport to a Trauma Center. Our goal is 15 minutes or less 90% of the time. This data does not include incidents where scene delay is beyond the control of the Medics. One example is a prolonged rescue situation such as removing someone who is trapped in a crashed vehicle.
Compliance with 15 Minute Standard (percent of patient contacts)
We have reported a version of this measure in the past, looking at the percentage of trauma patients that meet scene interval standards. Our goal is to meet the 15 minute standard for 90 percent of all trauma patients. We use this version to report performance at the individual provider level as well as for the department as a whole.
This indicator includes one significant variation from the OMD version: unavoidable delays are not excluded from the measure. Instead, we measure based on how our crews provide appropriate care for the individual patient's situation. So, if a patient has a delay on scene that could not be controlled by the crew, it is included as meeting the goal for the patient, along with patients who have a scene interval less than 15 minutes.
Why is this important?
Patients with serious trauma require rapid assessment, treatment, and transportation to a designated trauma center for evaluation by a physician, critical interventions, and surgery. While research has not shown that short scene times actually improve survival outcomes in trauma patients, EMS believes that rapid care in a hospital is good for the patient because it can expedite how quickly a patient may receive critical care and necessary surgical interventions.
NOTE: We recently reviewed and updated our clinical audit processes. As part of the update, we adjusted data filters to ensure consistent measurement across the various clinical indicators we report. These changes may result in a small amount of variation from previously reported results.
This measure relates to our Strategic Goals for Service and Finance- S1, S2, S3, F2, and F3:
S1: To be an organization that strives to improve the lives of people in our community.
S2: To have a service delivery model that best serves the needs of our community.
S3: To be an organization that puts service before self.
F2: To be an organization that provides value to the community.
F3: To provide quality cost efficient service to the community.
Performance Measure Definition
Click here to view our strategic goals