Collecting Data for Evaluation for Community Paramedicine Programs

Emergency medical service (EMS) providers collect data about their activities to facilitate billing processes and ensure accurate patient information is shared with the emergency department during a transport. As a result, the data systems used by many EMS agencies are designed to capture information about stand-alone incidents. However, community paramedics aid in the management of health conditions and may conduct multiple visits resulting in multiple contacts with the same patient.

Programs may need to work with their existing data systems vendor or identify an off-the-shelf solution that can help capture their activities and outcomes most accurately. If possible, the system should have the capability to interface with the electronic health record (EHR) systems used by other provider organizations in the community, so all members of a patient's care team have access to their care plan and treatment records.

To determine their success in achieving project outcomes, EMS providers are likely most interested in patient care records or documentation from the scene of an EMS encounter (also called a “run report”); state EMS agencies may also be interested in broader information about the workforce, capacity, and available services, which can be obtained through personnel and service licensure data. Other potential data sources include behavioral health providers, hospitals, fire or police departments, and human services agencies.

Resources to Learn More

Community Paramedicine Business Case Assessment Tool
Document
Forecasts costs and savings for community paramedicine programs under different development scenarios. Designed specifically to assess the Acute Community Care paramedicine program at Commonwealth Care Alliance, but can be edited and modified to fit the needs of individual programs.
Organization(s): Mathematica Policy Research, Center for Health Care Strategies
Date: 12/2016