Paramedicine
Encyclopedia
Paramedicine is the unique domain of practice that represents the intersection of health care, public health, and public safety. While discussed for many years, the concept of paramedicine was first formally described in the EMS Agenda for the Future. Paramedicine represents an expansion of the traditional notion of emergency medical services
as simply an emergency response system. Paramedicine is the totality of the roles and responsibilities of paramedics and represents the highest level of the practice of out of hospital medicine by non-physicians.
focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, re-attaining, and maintaining optimal health, often following acute or sudden onset of medical or traumatic events. Paramedicine is practiced predominantly in the out of hospital setting. The practice of paramedicine is an art, based on the sciences of human anatomy
, physiology
, and pathophysiology
. The goal of paramedicine is to promote optimal quality of life, as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences, from birth to care at the end of life.
Much of the practice of paramedicine includes complex independent decision making, often in the face of incomplete, ambiguous and conflicting information. Examples of such decision making include response readiness and response, scene management, patient assessment, clinical problem solving, emergency vehicle operations, leadership, planning, therapeutic communications, disposition decisions, patient education, resource coordination. The practice of paramedicine involves the application of concepts of medical care under challenging, uncontrolled, and austere conditions.
In addition to the independent portion of practice, paramedicine involves the performance of medical skills and tasks which are regulated by law. For such regulated tasks (i.e. starting an IV
, administering a medication, performing invasive tasks, etc.), the practice of paramedicine is ‘dependent.’ The dependent portion of the practice of paramedicine is based on a collaborative relationship with a physician medical director who provides medical oversight. The contemporary philosophy of medical oversight involves the physician providing treatment protocols in such a fashion as to encourage clinical problem solving and decision making. The decision regarding which protocol to implement is based on the formation of a paramedic diagnosis.
Other areas of inquiry in paramedic theory are: emergency response, response planning, community education, inter-facility transfer, disaster preparedness/response, emergency management
, pandemic
and epidemic
, emergency response planning, special operations, medical aspects of rescue, etc.
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
as simply an emergency response system. Paramedicine is the totality of the roles and responsibilities of paramedics and represents the highest level of the practice of out of hospital medicine by non-physicians.
Profession
Paramedicine is a health professionHealth profession
The health care industry, or medical industry, is the sector of the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care...
focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, re-attaining, and maintaining optimal health, often following acute or sudden onset of medical or traumatic events. Paramedicine is practiced predominantly in the out of hospital setting. The practice of paramedicine is an art, based on the sciences of human anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, and pathophysiology
Pathophysiology
Pathophysiology is the study of the changes of normal mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions, either caused by a disease, or resulting from an abnormal syndrome...
. The goal of paramedicine is to promote optimal quality of life, as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences, from birth to care at the end of life.
Much of the practice of paramedicine includes complex independent decision making, often in the face of incomplete, ambiguous and conflicting information. Examples of such decision making include response readiness and response, scene management, patient assessment, clinical problem solving, emergency vehicle operations, leadership, planning, therapeutic communications, disposition decisions, patient education, resource coordination. The practice of paramedicine involves the application of concepts of medical care under challenging, uncontrolled, and austere conditions.
In addition to the independent portion of practice, paramedicine involves the performance of medical skills and tasks which are regulated by law. For such regulated tasks (i.e. starting an IV
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
, administering a medication, performing invasive tasks, etc.), the practice of paramedicine is ‘dependent.’ The dependent portion of the practice of paramedicine is based on a collaborative relationship with a physician medical director who provides medical oversight. The contemporary philosophy of medical oversight involves the physician providing treatment protocols in such a fashion as to encourage clinical problem solving and decision making. The decision regarding which protocol to implement is based on the formation of a paramedic diagnosis.
Theory
Paramedicine is based on the emerging concept of paramedic theory which is the study and analysis of how the three pillars of paramedicine (health care/medicine, public health, and public safety) interact and intersect. As stated in the IoM Report EMS at the Crossroads (2006), EMS is currently highly fragmented and largely separated from the overall health care system. A major emphasis of paramedic theory is the integration of emergency medical services, both intra-professionally and extra-professionally. Intra-professional integration is the study of resource allocation, distribution, deployment and efficiency. Extra-professional study involves the integration of EMS with the nation's existing (and future) emergency care and health care system.Other areas of inquiry in paramedic theory are: emergency response, response planning, community education, inter-facility transfer, disaster preparedness/response, emergency management
Emergency management
Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
, pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
and epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
, emergency response planning, special operations, medical aspects of rescue, etc.
See also
- Emergency Medical Services in the United StatesEmergency medical services in the United StatesEmergency Medical Services in the United States, provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need...
- Paramedics in CanadaParamedics in CanadaIn Canada the paramedic is a health professional, providing pre-hospital assessment and medical care to the victims of illnesses or injuries. The term is generally limited to include those who work on emergency and non-emergency patient transport service environment ambulances...
- Paramedics in AustraliaParamedics in AustraliaA paramedic in Australia is a health care professional who responds to and treats all types of medical and trauma emergencies outside of a hospital setting before and during transportation to an appropriate medical facility...
- Health Sciences