EMS and trauma systems

Abstract

When a person is injured, timely treatment of the injury is needed to mitigate the impact. Trauma systems were developed to provide immediate and coordinated care of the injured patient. The premise underlying the development of state and regional trauma systems is that an organized system of trauma care ensures that critically injured patients are appropriately triaged and/or transferred to high-quality definitive care, without delay. A trauma system consists of three major providers and associated components-prehospital, acute care, and rehabilitation. The goal of trauma system research is to identify the optimal components of trauma systems that reduce morbidity and mortality for the injured patient, while efficiently using limited resources. In this chapter, the key characteristics and purpose for trauma systems are defined to lay a foundation for issues related to trauma system research. The advantages and disadvantages of national and state trauma system datasets are discussed. Highlighted examples of trauma system research from the 1960s to the present are given. The chapter concludes with challenges and future direction.