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Complete Health Indicator Report of EMS Response Time

Definition

Average (mean) time (in minutes) from unit notified by dispatch to EMS arrival at scene.

Numerator

Total minutes from unit notified by dispatch of EMS to scene arrival for individual EMS response trips.

Denominator

Total number of EMS response trips.

Data Interpretation Issues

Not all EMS agencies were compliant with data collection during all years. Due to non-compliance, the data collection system contains between 50% and 98% of actual EMS responses, depending on the year (more recent years are more complete). Data may also not be reflective of true response times due to data entry errors. Data for 2016 has been updated to reflect the population descriptions for counties that the Office of Primary Care and Rural Health uses. These descriptions no longer include "sub-frontier". Data for 2016 has likewise been updated to include agencies who were reporting to the new data system and were incomplete for 2016. In 2015, five counties grew in population size and were recalculated from Sub-frontier to Frontier. These counties include Daggett, Kane, Millard, Piute, and San Juan. In 2012, population density calculations for 2000-2010 were revised based on census data. In 2008, the query for this indicator was changed as follows: * The exclusions of canceled responses and inter-facility transfers were added. * Additional data for previously reported years was received. * Each county's population density classification was calculated for each year. Previously, each county's population density classification was tied to population numbers from 2000. The new query accounts for the fact that some counties have changed population density classification during the years included in this indicator. * Each response was classified based on the county in which the incident happened. Previously, responses were classified based on the county in which the responding EMS agency was based. [[br]] The 1999-2007 data were updated to reflect these changes. The averages changed compared to those previously reported as follows: * Sub-frontier: response time increased by 2.0 minutes on average * Frontier: decreased by 1.9 minutes * Rural: increased by 0.6 minutes * Urban: increased by 0.7 minutes [[br]] Data for 1996-1998 were not updated.

Why Is This Important?

Timely emergency service response can save lives of patients with life-threatening conditions such as severe injury, stroke, and cardiac arrest. The time from unit dispatched to arrival on the scene is an important measure of the capacity of the state Emergency Medical Services system to respond to calls for assistance.

Healthy People Objective AHS-8:

(Developmental) Increase the proportion of persons who have access to rapidly responding prehospital emergency medical services
U.S. Target: Not applicable

Other Objectives

Similar to Healthy People 2020 Objective HDS-18: (Developmental) Increase the proportion of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in which appropriate bystander and emergency medical services (EMS) were administered.

How Are We Doing?

EMS response times in Utah have risen slightly in recent years, with the rise being more pronounced in the least populated areas.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

National response time data are available for research requests from the National EMS Database (see [http://www.nemsis.org]). Valid comparisons between a state and the nation require identical statistical coding programs including case exclusion criteria for canceled calls, interfacility transfers, and response times that are negative, zero, or greater than 60 minutes.

What Is Being Done?

The UDOH Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness monitors EMS response time and develops programs to improve delivery of EMS services throughout Utah, especially in non-urban areas.

Available Services

EMS Act and Administrative Rules[[br]] [https://bemsp.utah.gov/][[br]] [[br]] List of Licensed and Designated EMS Prehospital (Ambulance/Paramedic) Services[[br]] [https://emslicense.utah.gov/lookup/][[br]] [[br]] Data reports[[br]] [https://bemsp.utah.gov/regulations/data/data-collection/]

Health Program Information

Information about the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness data systems is available at [https://bemsp.utah.gov/regulations/data/].


Related Indicators

Related Health Care System Factors Indicators:


Related Risk Factors Indicators:




Graphical Data Views

Time (Avg. Minutes) From Unit Notified by Dispatch EMS Arrival at Scene by County Type, Utah, 1996-2021

::chart - missing::

County TypeYearAverage Time (Minutes)Numer- atorDenom- inator
Record Count: 98
Sub-frontier199613.1
Sub-frontier199713.5
Sub-frontier199812.3
Sub-frontier199916.628,3611,710
Sub-frontier200017.020,3321,194
Sub-frontier200115.116,2891,082
Sub-frontier200216.713,223790
Sub-frontier200314.213,286934
Sub-frontier200414.296868
Sub-frontier200512.75,890463
Sub-frontier200615.87,628483
Sub-frontier200714.724,4081,658
Sub-frontier200815.627,3271,750
Sub-frontier200916.225,5281,575
Sub-frontier201016.829,4151,748
Sub-frontier201116.327,5871,697
Sub-frontier201216.024,7801,547
Sub-frontier201316.632,0451,932
Sub-frontier201417.434,7241,994
Sub-frontier201517.38,913514
Frontier199611.0
Frontier199712.6
Frontier199811.7
Frontier199912.046,3923,858
Frontier200011.848,5754,115
Frontier200111.542,1063,655
Frontier200212.633,0182,627
Frontier200312.815,8701,243
Frontier200415.78,417535
Frontier200513.59,128674
Frontier200613.417,0181,274
Frontier200712.529,7902,387
Frontier200812.634,4652,727
Frontier200913.237,8262,856
Frontier201013.439,0882,914
Frontier201113.641,3483,038
Frontier201213.440,6853,033
Frontier201313.127,6032,108
Frontier201413.327,8222,095
Frontier201514.554,7613,782
Frontier201615.866,7684,229
Frontier201715.783,0245,286
Frontier201815.687,1225,583
Frontier201916.7141,6728,597
Frontier202017.4107,0856,406
Frontier202117.9101,0646,047
Rural19968.3
Rural19979.2
Rural19989.4
Rural19997.763,6328,248
Rural200010.083,6788,335
Rural200110.096,0219,606
Rural200210.294,2539,206
Rural20038.481,1089,609
Rural20049.3107,19111,550
Rural200510.2106,53410,471
Rural200610.6107,62710,139
Rural20079.5192,42920,303
Rural20089.6188,72019,755
Rural200910.0218,25121,934
Rural20109.9266,41727,007
Rural20119.4238,41725,362
Rural20129.3259,84027,836
Rural20139.8232,78023,835
Rural20149.5240,02225,366
Rural20159.4255,46327,199
Rural20169.5263,86927,797
Rural20179.9231,14223,298
Rural20189.5231,18224,294
Rural201910.5284,54130,553
Rural202010.7306,22432,409
Rural202111.1378,82838,751
Urban19966.8
Urban19977.1
Urban19987.4
Urban19997.0615,50888,021
Urban20007.7631,68581,689
Urban20018.1628,51878,058
Urban20027.6465,16961,294
Urban20036.7336,98450,094
Urban20047.2367,57350,784
Urban20057.3489,46367,256
Urban20068.0626,98678,687
Urban20078.7607,95770,219
Urban20088.4528,21762,753
Urban20097.7647,83184,436
Urban20107.6833,519110,393
Urban20116.8710,135104,237
Urban20126.6718,274108,645
Urban20136.7767,761115,383
Urban20146.6849,018128,208
Urban20156.7972,842144,448
Urban20167.3707,973169,971
Urban20176.6891,892134,312
Urban20186.7868,088128,839
Urban20196.5807,481121,624
Urban20206.7887,945131,748
Urban20216.7964,625140,295

Data Notes

Excludes canceled EMS responses. Excludes inter-facility transfers. Excludes response times that are negative, zero, or greater than 60 minutes.   [[br]] Sub-Frontier: <2 persons/sq mile. [[br]] Frontier: >=2 and <6 persons/sq mile. [[br]] Rural: >=6 and <100 persons/sq mile. [[br]] Urban: >=100 persons/sq mile. Data from 2016 was updated to include information on all Salt Lake County EMS agencies that was excluded prior. Data for 2016 was updated to reflect the population descriptions for counties that the Office of Primary Care and Rural Health uses. These descriptions no long include "sub-frontier".

Data Source

Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Utah Department of Health

References and Community Resources

[https://bemsp.utah.gov//] (general Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness website information pages) [https://ruralhealth.health.utah.gov/portal/county-classifications-map/] Office of Primary Care and Rural Health county classification map

More Resources and Links

Evidence-based community health improvement ideas and interventions may be found at the following sites:
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER Database, a system for disseminating public health data and information.
  • United States Census Bureau data dashboard.
  • Utah healthy Places Index, evidence-based and peer-reviewed tool, supports efforts to prioritize equitable community investments, develop critical programs and policies across the state, and much more.
  • County Health Rankings
  • Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts.org
  • Medical literature can be queried at PubMed library.



Page Content Updated On 10/27/2022, Published on 10/27/2022
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services IBIS-PH web site (http://ibis.health.state.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Mon, 18 March 2024 21:17:08 from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.gov ".

Content updated: Thu, 27 Oct 2022 11:10:46 MDT