Organization: National Rural Health Resource Center

Description: Integration within EMS occurs as systems mature and continue efforts to sustain and improve patient care. A variety of factors lead to and demand integration. Changing demographics, evolving reimbursement models, refined quality standards, and operational goals all cause individual agencies to discover improved means to continue providing patients with excellent care. Clinical effectiveness and operational efficiencies can be maximized when agencies integrate.

This document is a practical guide for ambulance services (agencies) to use in their pursuit of sustaining effective and efficient delivery of patient care and developing into an integrated system with other agencies. It provides insights from agencies to promote integration to the benefit of the agencies, the staff, and, most importantly, to the patients.

Click here to access the Rural Emergency Medical Services Integration Guide