American Heart Association’s PSAP research survey strives to learn how PSAPs are handling pre-arrival instructions.
 
PSAPs in Alabama were recently sent an invitation to participate in a national survey, sponsored by the American Heart Association. This survey, which appears to be the first national survey of this type, is attempting to understand how America’s PSAPs are handing pre-arrival instructions (PAIs). This survey was initially conducted as a pilot project in 5 states. The pilot project revealed some interesting information. The following is a sample of what has been learned so far:

• Three-fourths (76%) of dispatchers who provided PAIs were EMD certified. In almost all cases, a PAI-trained dispatcher was on duty 24-7.
• Of those which provided PAIs, almost all (93%) used a structured script (57% manual, 43% computer), and NAEMD was the predominant source for the script.
• Over one-half (54%) of PSAPs did not monitor live calls, but about three-fourths (72%) reported conducting some kind of formalized system evaluation.
• The median time to complete the total survey was 15 minutes; 7 minutes for those PSAPs which did not provide pre-arrival instructions for medical emergency.

If your PSAP has not yet participated in this survey, an on-line link can still be accessed:
http://www.macyconsulting.biz/psapsurvey/psapintro.html