EMS Systems Planning
In accordance with Division 2.5 of the Health and Safety (HSC) Code, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) provides statewide coordination and leadership for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of local emergency medical services (EMS) systems to include the following:
- Development of regulations and statewide standards for EMS systems. (HSC § 1797.103)
- Provision of technical assistance to local EMS agencies (LEMSA)s in developing the components of the EMS system. (HSC § 1797.104)
- Assessment of EMS systems to determine the need for additional EMS, coordination of EMS, and the effectiveness of EMS. (HSC § 1797.102)
- Review of EMS plans based on compliance with statutes, regulations, and case law, and EMS plan determination on implementation. (HSC § 1797.105)
LEMSAs are required to annually submit an EMS plan for the EMS area to EMSA (HSC § 1797.254) for the assessment of their EMS system and to determine whether the EMS plan meets the EMS system components (HSC § 1797.103) identified below:
- Manpower and training;
- Communications;
- Transportation;
- Assessment of hospitals and critical care centers;
- System organization and management;
- Data collection and evaluation;
- Public information and education; and
- Disaster response.
The EMS plan is a mechanism for LEMSAs to:
- Plan, implement, and evaluate their EMS system;
- Demonstrate how their EMS system is compliant with statutes, regulations, and case law;
- Demonstrate their EMS system is well managed, has patient oriented emergency health care, and coordinates with neighboring EMS systems, as needed;
- Develop and identify objectives, needs, and short and long-range goals; and
- Collect, evaluate, and report EMS system information.