Out-of-hospital or pre-hospital: Is it time to reconsider the language used to describe and define paramedicine?

Abstract

The professionalisation of paramedicine in Australasia necessitates discussion about how the profession defines and describes itself in the literature and more broadly. This editorial discusses the descriptors pre-hospital care and out-of-hospital care, and the connotations, relevance and implications of their use to describe paramedic roles and practice.

Keywords: Out-of-hospital; Paramedicine; Pre-hospital.