title: Patient assessment in emergency medical services: complexity and uncertainty in street-level patient processing.
abstract: Though still a relatively nascent public function, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies have come to constitute a core local government service. The potentially life-saving interventional and palliative treatments provided by EMS personnel are inarguably vital for positive short- and long-term patient outcomes, yet our understanding of the behavior of these individuals during service interactions is limited. This exploratory research begins to narrow this gap in our understanding of street-level bureaucrats in EMS organizations by analyzing semi-structured interviews of paramedics recounting uncertain and complex accounts of street-level patient processing. Results indicate that factors such as paramedic communication skills, influential bystanders with key incident information, and patient identity serve to shape street-level interactions with patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care and Public Administration, Long Island University (LIU Post), USA.
authors.forename: Alexander C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014218:Triage; D035501:Uncertainty; D014481:United States