Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;37(5):575-8.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2016.5.13872.

Epidemiology of non-transported emergency medical services calls in Saudi Arabia

Daifallah M Alrazeeni  1 , Sikender A Sheikh, Abdulmajeed Mobrad, Mazen Al Ghamdi, Nabeel Abdulqader, Mohammed Al Gadgab, Majed Al Qahtani, Bader Al Khaldi
Affiliations

Epidemiology of non-transported emergency medical services calls in Saudi Arabia

Daifallah M Alrazeeni et al. Saudi Med J. 2016 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the epidemiology of non- transported emergency medical services (EMS) calls within the EMS system at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to identify factors that contributes to non-transport of patients by EMS provider, and to recommend suggestions for reduction in number of non-transported calls.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 1390 patient care reports (PCR) of non-transported cases responded to, and documented by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) emergency medical technicians (EMTs). All PCRs of non-transported cases from 10 EMS stations, in 3 consecutive months were examined. The SRCA EMTs management in Riyadh allocated all non-transported PCRs for 3 months (March-May 2014). Constructive data that includes patients demographics, scene characteristics, trip and timing information, length of stay, clinical and assessment data, and physician contact, or presence status were extracted from those PCRs.

Results: Twenty-five percent of calls made during the study period were reported as non-transported calls. Seventy percent of non-transported calls were related to refusal by patient. Approximately 22.4% of non-transported calls were canceled by dispatch. Approximately 50% of non-transported patient were in the young age group (16-30 years). In 26% of non-transported calls, the field time was restricted to 15 minutes.

Conclusion: More than half of the non-transported emergency calls were reported as refused by patient/relative, while approximately one quarter were reported as cancelled calls.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reason for non-transport in relation to age among non-transported calls recorded by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority emergency medical services. pt - patient, NA - not applicable
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chief complaints by patient distribution among non-transported calls recorded by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority emergency medical services.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. General Authority for Statistics. Population. Statistical Yearbook 47 2011. Central Department of Statistics & Information. [Updated 2016; Accessed 2013 November 15]. Available from URL: http://www.stats.gov.sa/en .
    1. Wikipedia. Demographics of Saudi Arabia [Internet] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. [Updated 2016 April 23, 17:36 UTC; Cited 2016 April 26]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Demographics_of_Saudi_Arabia&o... .
    1. Zachariah BS, Bryan D, Pepe PE, Griffin M. Follow-up and outcome of patients who decline or are denied transport by EMS. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 1992;7:359–364.
    1. American College of Emergency Physicians. Continuous Quality Improvement in EMS. Dallas (TX): ACEP; 1992. pp. 298–230.
    1. Selden BS, Schnitzer PG, Nolan FX. Medicolegal documentation of prehospital triage. Ann Emerg Med. 1990;19:547–551. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources