ABSTRACT
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) is an integrated part of the modern healthcare system. The major participants include schedulers and first responders, who communicate intermittently during the whole service procedure, from the “First response” stage to “Last clear”. With data obtained from a Computer Aided Dispatching system of a university based EMS provider, data analysis results revealed issues in resource allocation and possible contributing factors. Uncertainty in the dynamics of event progression and situation awareness influences the performance of all participants in the EMS system. With respect to this dynamic feature of first responders’ working scenario, the increased cognitive load of EMS responders, as well as their working behaviors, should be accordingly taken into account in the dispatching decision-making process. A preliminary conceptual model based on empirical data led to development of a new behavior model of first responders, summarized as an Information Concentration model. This theoretical model serves as an indicator of system performance during the response process after initial dispatch. Parameters included in this model can be derived from archival data of service performance from dispatch records and potential traffic data from GPS systems or other available traffic flow models.
