Military Emergency Medical Services Systems

Revised and approved by the ACEP Board of Directors June 1997 and October 2009
Reaffirmed by the ACEP Board of Directors October 2002
Originally approved by the ACEP Board of Directors titled, "Military Emergency Medical Systems" June 1988

As an adjunct to this policy statement, ACEP's Emergency Medicine Practice Committee developed a Policy Resource Education Paper (PREP), Military Prehospital Care and Emergency Medical Service Systems.

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) believes optimal care of patients served by emergency medical services systems must not be limited by military installation boundaries. Military installation EMS systems must meet or exceed prevailing community standards, including standards for staffing, response times, training, and equipment. As an integral part of the EMS system, 911 dispatchers at military installations should be Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) certified and have medical direction oversight.

EMS Organization Military installation EMS systems should address all aspects of out-of-hospital care and should include a lead coordinating agency, physician medical director, appropriate resource management, system design, and organization policies necessary to implement comprehensive service. Military EMS systems must be fully integrated into the regional EMS system.

EMS Components. The following components should be addressed in the development and continuing improvement of military EMS systems: system organization, operations policies, medical direction, 911 communications, human resources and education, transportation, facilities, public information and education, continuous quality improvement, and disaster management and mass casualty or major incident planning.