title: Termination of field resuscitation.
abstract: Termination of field resuscitation programs allow the base-station physician to pronounce a patient dead through the eyes and ears of the paramedic. Despite the controversy of changing the way we treat cardiac arrest victims in the field, there are several benefits to having these programs. For many agencies, the benefits and strengths will far outweigh the weakness. Commitment, education and patience on the part of the entire department are required to make this type of program work. The emergency medical service community as a whole must work diligently to overcome society's concept that everyone who is treated by EMS gets transported to the hospital and everyone survives. While advances in emergency cardiac care are being studied every day, the fact remains that the national save rate is still very low. In many cases, discontinuing efforts in the field might be a feasible option.
authors.affiliation: Mesa Fire Department, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Heckerson
mesh_terms: D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards*; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016414:Resuscitation Orders; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States