ABSTRACT
Paramedic services can become a good test bed for modifications in a healthcare environment. The healthcare working environment is known to be dynamic and hectic. This chapter discusses the unique characteristics of paramedic services, describes some of the quality improvement work that was done in paramedic services, and examines what it takes for the paramedic services to lead human factors research and implementation. It focuses on how using human factors tools and methods to implement improvements in healthcare can reduce the chances for such events and how the experience gained from the improvements can serve not only paramedic services but also the entire healthcare system. Paramedic services are a critical component of public safety and central to the functioning of the healthcare system. Paramedic services tend to be small compared to other healthcare organizations. Paramedic services maintain the clinical education of their paramedics through annual training and certification process.
