Design effective emergency medical services (EMS) systems with the guidelines and expert recommendations in NFPA 450.

Make sure your local EMS system is one of the best. To serve the public and support first responders, effective provision of pre-hospital care requires the coordination and cooperation of disparate elements. The comprehensive 2017 edition of NFPA 450: Guide for Emergency Medical Services and Systems provides the guidelines, resources, and recommendations you need for comprehensive EMS systems development and/or design.

This document is useful as a template when developing an EMS system as well as in the evaluation of measurable outcomes. It provides a framework for evaluating systems and making improvements based on that evaluation.

Essential for agencies looking to establish an EMS system, the 2017 edition of NFPA 450:

• Reflects changes in the delivery of healthcare services as a result of the Affordable Care Act
• Adds new coverage for Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine -- growing areas in the delivery of EMS
• Includes greater emphasis on the importance of the Chain of Survival
• Covers the issue of addressing public health as part of an EMS system, in response to recent health-related events
• Highlights data collecting and the reporting of that data
• Features updated references throughout

NFPA 450 correlates with other federal EMS documents and is consistent with commonly used terminology in the EMS community. Everyone from local stakeholders to owners and staff of agencies and organizations needs the latest edition.