EMS Compass Initiative Information

Funded by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of EMS and led by the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO), the EMS Compass initiative is engaging a wide range of EMS stakeholders to develop performance measures that are relevant to EMS agencies, regulators, and patients. The measures will be based on the latest version of the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) version data and will allow local and state EMS agencies to use their own data meaningfully. The goal of the EMS Compass initiative is to create a system that enables meaningful assessment of performance of EMS systems at the local, regional, state and national levels. “Developing a set of performance measures will give EMS agencies across the country the ability to ensure they are providing high-quality, patient-centered care. We see this as a huge opportunity to transform how we do EMS in this country.” – Dia Gainor, executive director, National Association of State EMS Officials The result of this work will benefit the EMS community from patient to provider and administrator to regulator, as they pursue meaningful performance measurement. This project also benefits from the development of the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and enables use of its data for improvement and comparison. A national, universal performance measurement strategy linked to a common data set may enable broader and quicker adoption of both NEMSIS v3 and standardized performance measures. “This is the next step in helping EMS, from ambulance services and other emergency medical services, to government agencies, and ultimately the communities and patients they serve.” – Drew Dawson, director, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of EMS