title: Delay in ambulance dispatch to road accidents.
abstract: When a road accident occurs, the police communications officer, or 911 operator, generally receives the first call. If the caller reports injuries, the emergency medical services dispatcher is notified immediately; but if the caller is uncertain of injuries, the operator may wait. Most often an ambulance is not needed. However, in nearly 20% of fatal road accidents in Missouri, waiting for confirmation of need resulted in a delay of 5 minutes or more in the dispatch of an ambulance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brodsky
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000592:standards*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D016015:Logistic Models; D008923:Missouri; D016134:Organizational Policy; D016495:Police / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D012424:Rural Population; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population